Through Her Eyes She Saw the World
by StarnightX
Summary: Arabella Roland has been able to see things other people can't, including the mysterious house number 12 in Grimmauld Place. On one summer day she dares to investigate...she didn't know her view of the world would change forever. SiriusxOC; Book 5; ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I wasn't going to post a new story until I finish the other two stories I'm working on, but I couldn't help it! **

**I'm so excited for this story and I've had the idea stuck in my head for the longest time! I won't be able to update for a while, since other stories are higher on my priority list, but I will update as often as possible.**

**Please note that the OC is 18 years old while Sirius is around 36 in the 5th book, an age difference of 18 years. However, I obviously threw this fact out the window.**

**I have a feeling this story will be slightly crazy, but bear with me. Reviews would be awesome!**

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><p>It was a rather bright sunny day as the young girl and her caretaker took a walk through Grimmauld Place. "…seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve…." The small 5 year old girl counted the house numbers happily as she walked next to her caretaker, Nana.<p>

"No, look here," Nana pointed to the house next to eleven. "See? Next is house number thirteen. They skipped the number twelve all together."

The young girl looked up at Nana and back at the house. "No…" She pointed up to house number twelve. "Can't you see it Nana? It's right there."

"Come now silly Arabella. You're just letting your imagination run wild again."

"Am not, it's right there!"

"Come on Arabella, your father is waiting for you at home."

**Ever since I could remember, I could see things others couldn't.**

**I could hear things others couldn't.**

**I even talked to things others couldn't.**

**No one else could.**

**Every day I had to pretend.**

**I had to pretend that the world I could see didn't exist.**

**Chapter One**

**In Which She Drew a Picture of a Man**

The eighteen year old woman walked leisurely along the sidewalk. Her white floral print dress swirled about her knees as she went along and her waist-length dark brown hair moved along with the slight breeze. It was a sunny summer day, very hot and humid, but she took her time getting to wherever it was she needed to go. She eventually arrived at Grimmauld Place, an area she spent quite a bit of time in since she was a child. As she passed the empty playground, she began to count the house numbers as she always did. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven…

"Arabella! Arabella!" A high pitched feminine voice shouted out. The young woman, whose name was Arabella, looked up ahead to see a small figure zooming toward her. Arabella held out her hand and the small figure landed on it; the figure was a little fairy with golden hair and eyes. The little white dress she wore was decorated with small golden leaves. "How are you, Linore?" Arabella greeted the little fairy.

"Wonderful! But we have more important things to talk about! Humans are living in the House Arabella!"

"The House?"

"Yes! They're living in House Number 12!" Arabella then looked up at the house on her left, Number 12 Grimmauld Place. It was the number one mystery of her childhood that still puzzled her to this day. How could it be that no one else could see the house? The house wasn't a magical creature, like a fairy. There was no way for it to hide itself; it simply wasn't magical, was it? Besides, how could anyone live there, if no one could see it?

"Are you sure there are people living there?" Arabella asked a bit skeptical of the little fairy.

"Linore is correct, for once." A small masculine voice said, startling Arabella.

"Tamesis!" She peered down at her right shoulder. "I didn't see you."

"Obviously." He rolled his eyes. Unlike Linore, Tamesis' attire was darker: ripped black wife beater, black jeans, dark grey skin, and decorative black thorns. His eyes and hair were equally as dark, somewhat reflecting his personality. He picked at his clear wings absentmindedly before continuing. "A few days ago wizards moved into the House."

"Wizards!" That explained where the magic came from that kept the House hidden from others. How could she not think of wizards before? "You two must tell me all about them!"

"They aren't that exciting…" Tamesis mumbled, while Linore seemed rather excited to tell Arabella what she knew. Arabella carried the two fairies to a bench, which was situated in a position so that it was facing the house. Sitting down on the bench, she then moved the two fairies to settle in her lap. "So…" She started and Linore flew up to speak. "The wizards are like normal humans, except they use magic a lot for everything."

"It's not that exciting. All they seem to do is cook and clean," Tamesis interjected.

"Tell me what they look like. Do they wear strange robes and pointy looking hats?" Arabella asked.

"Some do, some don't. Most of them just where normal human clothes all the time!"

"Only a certain number of wizards live in the house itself." Tamesis informed her. "There are others that come and go from time to time."

"I see…"

"Oh, but Arabella! There is one wizard that looks so mysteriously handsome!" Linore swooned at the mere thought of him.

Arabella took out a sketchbook and a pencil from her shoulder bag. "Go on!" She laughed. "Tell me what he looked like."

"He has shoulder length hair as dark as the midnight sky on a moonless night and his eyes are a dark silver…" Linore started dreamily.

"His hair looks dull and he may have some split ends. His eyes aren't that amazing; they're more like a stone gray." Tamesis chimed in.

"He's tall and lean and his clothing is refined…" Linore continued.

"He's tall and skinny. It looks as if he hasn't seen the light of day, no matter how refined his clothes are…" Tamesis added.

"Will you stop interrupting me Tamesis!" Linore shrilled, fed up with his random insertions.

"You need to stop over exaggerating his looks. In my opinion he's a bit above average, but you make it seem like he's some Greek God."

"Well, how do you know he isn't one?"

"He isn't because that makes no bloody sense! Listen to yourself! You sound like some love sick child."

"I do not!" The female fairy whined.

"I finished you two." Arabella announced, breaking up their spew. She held up her sketchbook so she could see it from afar.

The two fairies flew to see the sketch of the mystery man. "It looks just like him." They said together. The girl sighed and admired the sketch before her. In less than a millisecond, she wanted to know more about this man; his likes, dislikes, hopes, fears. It was a strange feeling, seeing that she has never even seen this man before.

Linore noticed that she was in deep thought. "What's wrong Arabella?"

"Nothing…it's just that…it's just that I wish I could meet him."

"You can silly! You have us remember?" Linore exclaimed and pointed to herself and Tamesis.

"What do you mean?"

"What she means is that our fairy magic is stronger than wizard magic." Tamesis explained. "Any sort of magic that keeps you out of the house, we might be able to overpower. Fairies existed long before wizards, so our magic tends to be more powerful most of the time."

"Oh…but I have a piano lesson today with Mr. Walters." Arabella sighed and packed her things away. "I really must be going."

"Come back tomorrow then! We can visit him tomorrow!"

"I don't think that's a good idea Linore…"

"But don't you want to meet him?"

"Yes…" She confessed softly, but continued down Grimmauld Place, without another word to the two fairies. She wanted to see the man, but she was unsure. Fear held her back, the fear of not knowing anything about this man, except that he was a wizard with black hair and grey eyes. With her eyes focused on the ground, she walked in deep thought and just as she was about to leave Grimmauld Place, she ran into someone. "A number of things clattered to the ground. "I'm **so** sorry!" Arabella began scrambling to pick up the boxes the stranger dropped.

"It's nothing to worry about," the man reassured her as he picked up a box. She noticed when she looked up that the man wore worn out tan dress pants and a simple white shirt. He didn't look like he was from around this neighborhood, since his clothes weren't exactly upper middle class attire.

"Would you like help carrying these?" She offered.

"No thank you, it's not necessary."

"I insist." She had already began walking in the direction the man was headed. "My name is Arabella Roland. I live just a few minutes from here at Radiance Court. Are you new around here?"

"I'm just passing through…you shouldn't give too much information about yourself to strangers. You'll get yourself into trouble that way."

"Oh…" She looked away, blushing from her obvious naivety.

The man noticed this and smiled kindly. "My name is Remus Lupin. I suggest you be more careful in the future, Miss Roland."

Arabella was relieved he introduced himself as well; she didn't feel as foolish anymore. "So…what are you doing with these boxes?"

"I'm making a delivery for a friend."

"Oh! The things in the boxes aren't fragile are they?" She asked in fear that they may have broken.

"No, but they are important." They walked together in silence for a moment, before Lupin spoke again. "I think I can take it from here. The rest of the way is a bit far out of your way and I don't want to waste anymore of your time…"

Arabella set the box she was carrying on top of the ones he carried. "It wasn't troublesome at all! I'm glad I was able to help you. Well, until we meet again I guess…" She waved goodbye, with a smile on her face, and turned around to head home. That's when she remembered she had a piano lesson to attend to and began to run. She didn't notice that she and Mr. Lupin had stopped in front of house number 12 of Grimmauld Place.

Sirius Black stood by the window and watched as the brown haired girl ran off again. He had taken a habit to waiting by the window around 3 o'clock in the afternoon almost every day to see her walk by. He found it strange that he saw her walking with Remus. From all the times he had seen her, she was always walking by herself.

Sirius sighed; he couldn't deny the fact that he had been watching this girl walk past the house around 3 o'clock every day since he'd moved back in. He also couldn't deny the fact that this made him seem like a creeper, but he had a good reason as to why he was intrigued with this girl. The first day he saw her; she had stopped and looked up at the house, as though she could see it. She stood there for a while, and for a moment he thought she could see him gazing down at her, on the street below. He found her behavior, from that day on, to be rather odd for a muggle. Other than looking at the house, she would sometimes talk and laugh to herself, like she did earlier today. What a strange girl…

"Sirius!" Remus called out and Sirius went downstairs to help his friend. "About time." Remus handed him a couple boxes to carry. "What were you doing up there?" Remus asked.

"Nothing." Sirius murmured. "Who was that?"

"Who?"

"The girl that was with you."

"Oh, you saw her. I'm sure she's just an average muggle girl. She said she lived in Radiance Court."

"She told you where she lived?" Sirius repeated, unsure if he heard his friend correctly.

"Yes, she was a bit naïve, but a very kind girl none the less, or at least from what I could tell. She even told me her name."

"Her name?"

"Arabella Roland." He told Sirius offhandedly.

"Arabella." Sirius repeated the name; it seemed to roll off his tongue with ease. Remus went to put the boxes away and Sirius followed. Arabella, now he knew her name and, for some odd reason, knowing this made him all the more eager to watch her walking past his window again.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's the next chapta~! Hopefully a new one will come out soon. Thanks to the reviews so far!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

**In Which She Breaks an Entry**

It had been three days since Linore told Arabella about the new inhabitants of House Number 12. As each day went by, Arabella Roland found her curiosity become stronger and stronger to find out more about the people living there, more specifically the man with black hair and grey eyes. No matter how much she tried to wrap her head around it, she didn't know how she become so worked up over one man, especially a man she's never even met.

However, she couldn't go out for the past three days. She had arrived late to her piano lessons three days prior and as punishment, her father kept her bound to the house for an unstated amount of time. She sighed and glanced over at the clock. It was a little after three o'clock in the afternoon.

A knock came to her room's door. "Miss Arabella, your father would like to see you in his office." It was Nana. Her age showed on her face and grey streaks could be seen faintly in her hair.

"Alright, Nana." Arabella sat for a moment longer before getting up to see her father. She dreaded at the thought of what he may want to say to her and as she approached the double oak doors of his office her dread grew. She knocked twice. "Enter."

Arabella promptly obeyed the order and entered the room. She sat in one of the two chairs in front of her father's desk. Like Arabella, he too had jet black hair and honey-brown eyes; although his seemed more cold and emotionless. Her father, Leonard Roland, was a man of forty six years of age, but his well-kept appearance made him look ten years younger, his strong jaw and cleanly shaved face, he always said that youth was an important trait to have. His quick typing on a keyboard filled the silence. Mr. Roland peered over at his daughter for a moment before focusing back on the computer screen. "The Spencers are having a party for Ethan's 19th birthday and we'll be attending."

"When is it?"

"Three weeks from now."

"Alright."

"They've requested that you play for them."

"I see, then I'll also write a song especially for Ethan."

"Good…he'll be inheriting his father's company you know, after he completes his schooling of course."

"Yes, I know."

"You should spend more time with Ethan. I took the liberty of scheduling you two to have lunch together next week Thursday." He looked back at her to catch her reaction to this news. She chewed on her lower lip and kept her eyes focused on her hands folded in her lap. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "You know it is for your own good, your future. Ethan's family is part of the old nobility; they have old money. It'll definitely be a nice step up for you."

"Yes, sir."

"I only want to be sure that you will be provided for and taken care of."

"If you allowed me to get a job, then I'm sure I'll be able to…"

"And play piano at that restaurant La Nuit? Do you really want to do that for the rest of your life? Besides you're too young to work there. You also have music school and private lessons with Mr. Walters. Wouldn't you much rather perform along with an orchestra?"

"Yes, but I'd also like to gain more experience performing…"

"You won't get far if you spend all night playing in a restaurant no matter how high class it is. Besides, you already have some experience playing in smaller concerts and such…"

Arabella sighed, tired from trying to reason with her father. "Of course, Father."

"Good. I know you like to draw. Why don't you go outside and draw something?" He suggest as kindly as he could.

"So, I'm not being punished anymore?"

"Yes."

"Thank you Father!" She smiled and left his office immediately after. She practically ran to Grimmauld Place to House Number 12, with her bag flopping against her. "Linore! Tamesis!" She yelled as quietly as she could. "Linore!"

"Arabella!" An energetic fairy flew into her face. "Where were you the past three days! I was so worried about you! Tamesis said that you were probably fine and that there was no point in worrying! Isn't he insensitive?"

"I am not insensitive. I just said I wasn't worried and that she was probably fine." The male fairy appeared next to the two girls.

"You guys, I've decided I want to go in the house." Arabella announced. Linore cheered gleefully, while Tamesis' reaction was quite the opposite. "You shouldn't take this lightly. Entering a magical beings' world can change your life."

"It's only a house Tamesis," The human girl started to reason with Tamesis. "Besides, they're essentially humans like me."

"Humans with magic powers. Their world is different from yours Arabella…"

"If Arabella wants to go she should go! Stop raining on her parade!" Linore piped in.

"Yeah! Linore will help me get in. We don't need **your** magic to help us!" Arabella agreed.

Tamesis' eye twitched. "You both sound like children. Fine. I'm coming along, only because you two fools will only get yourselves into trouble."

The two "fools" grinned. "Okay!" Linore threw a fist in the air. "I'm gonna go unlock the door!" She zoomed off and shrank into the keyhole.

"Alright Arabella, I'm going to surround you in a sort of…force field." Tamesis turned towards Arabella, rubbing his hands together.

"What for?"

"The wizards most likely have used magic to keep normal humans, like you, out. So I'm creating a force field that will act as a shield against their magic. Once we're inside, you should be fine. I'm guessing they only used magic on the barriers of the house, like the walls and the roof, not on the interior of the house."

Arabella made an O shape with her mouth as Tamesis then clapped his hands together. He began to murmur in a language Arabella couldn't understand. When he separated his hands, a black force field began to surround itself around Arabella. The front door creaked open. "Looks like Linore unlocked it." Tamesis observed and flew into the house. Arabella approached the door step and, upon reaching the top step, she stopped. The door lead to a hallway, which was dimly lit, making it hard to see exactly what was inside the house. "Once you step in, there's no going back." Tamesis reminded her. She nodded her head and entered the house.

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light. To her, her heartbeat sounded much too loud and the fear of being caught began to grow. Although it was dark, she could see dust and even a few cobwebs hanging from the ceilings. She then realized how quite it was. "Didn't you two say there were people living in this hose?"

"Yep!"

"They must be out for the day." Tamesis concluded. "But just to be sure, Linore should go check if anyone's here."

"Why me?" Linore whined.

"Because if anyone is going to protect Arabella, it'd be me. I'm more efficient." Linore pouted at his answer, but went anyway.

Arabella breathed in the air. "Do you smell something Tamesis?" She slowly walked down the hall, wondering where the smell was coming from. Ahead there was a door, with light leaking out from the bottom. "This must be the kitchen." She reached for the handle.

"Arabella wait!" Tamesis shouted, but Arabella had already opened the door.

She pointed into the empty room she found. "No one's in here."

"Please refrain from bursting into a room without knowing if someone's inside or not."

To much of Tamesis' dislike, Arabella ignored his chiding. "Look!" She exclaimed, running over to the pot of stew on the stove and the sliced vegetables on the counter. "There's a knife chopping vegetables and a ladle stirring the stew."

"It's all simple magic. Hardly anything to fuss about."

Arabella turned around in one spot to survey the entire room. "I wonder what the rest of the house is like." She practically skipped out of the kitchen. "There's a staircase. Maybe I can see some of their rooms…"

"You've already entered their home without permission and I don't think you should invade the privacy of their rooms. That's over doing it."

"It's just a little peak." Arabella had already started up the stairs she passed in the hall earlier.

"…Arabella, look to your right." Tamesis whispered.

She turns her head and shrieks at the top of her lungs. She flung herself to the other side of the stairwell to stay as far away from the wall as possible. "What is that Tamesis!"

"They…look like mummified house elves, just without the wrappings." Tamesis said with a malicious grin.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" She asked, attempting to whack the fairy, who flew out of range.

"You deserve it! I still don't think you should be in here."

"Nothing will go wrong…" Arabella's heart stopped when she felt someone grab her wrist. She was suddenly spun around and found herself face to face with the man she had been wanting to meet.

"What are you doing here?"


	3. Chapter 3

******A/N: I'm sooo sorry for the long wait for this chapter. It's been an entire month! But I was focusing more on ending the school year, hence my absence. I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed and read the story so far, especially since I only have two chapters uploaded, ha ha.**

**IMPORTANT QUESTION! How long should I make this story? Because I could easily wrap it up in about 5 or 6 chapters and make it a short story...or I can go for an extended version which looks like will be about 20 chapters long...not really sure which route I wanna go yet!**

**Anyways, thank you for reading and reviews would be lovely~**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

**In Which She Meets the Man**

The house was quiet today. Everyone in the Order was out, even the Weasley family had something to do elsewhere today. Sirius sighed and checked the time again: fifteen minutes after three. He was sitting by his bedroom window. For some reason he felt anxious to see the girl, Arabella, walk by. He hadn't seen her in three days and wondered if something happened to her. Where was she? Where was Arabella?

He heard a noise and sighed yet again. "Buckbeak." He left his room and went into his mother's to see if there was something wrong with the loveable beast. When he entered, he could see a feather mass of gray on the king sized mattress. It rose and fell slowly; Buckbeak was sleeping. Then where did the noise come from?

Sirius shrugged it off figuring that it must have been one of the magical pests that had made the house their home. Molly had been going on and on about how this place was practically inhabitable for humans. Sometimes Sirius wished he could…_thump_,_ thump, thump_. Sirius turned around to face the door. Was it footsteps he heard? He was unsure, but when he heard a shriek of terror he sprinted out of the room.

As he approached the stairway, he noticed a stranger talking to herself. "Nothing will go wrong…" She started, but her voice trailed off when his hand snapped out to grab her wrist and whip her around. For a moment he found himself speechless. The intruder was none other than Arabella Roland.

Sirius was in a momentary state of shock. For one he felt happy that Arabella, the girl he had only been able to watch from afar, was finally standing before him, but he felt more so confused than anything. "How did you get in here?"

"Uh…uh…I" Arabella's voice seemed to be caught in her throat.

"How did you get in here?" He demanded again, then somewhere in the house a grandfather clock chimed. "Damn…" He started pulling her up the stairs.

She tried her best to resist, but it was to no avail. "Let go!"

"The others will return at any moment. If they find you…"

The sound of an opening door could be heard from where the two of them stood. A voice called out. "Sirius!"

Sirius broke out into a run, now dragging poor Arabella behind him. She struggled to keep up with him and nearly fell over when he threw her into a room. "Hide yourself and don't open the door for anyone." He shut the door close, with a little more force than necessary, before heading downstairs. She could still hear his voice as he moved farther away. "I see you're all back…" She heard other voices as well, but they seemed to blur together. She surveyed the dark room. It smelled as if an animal lived in here; she didn't expect that man to be so unhygienic.

Her hands were shaking and she made her way towards the large bed to sit, so that she could calm herself down a bit. As she approached the bed, she noticed there was a big lump of gray feathers on it. Strange, so tentatively she reached her hand out to touch it. "No! Arabella don't touch it!" Arabella drew her hand back quickly and whipped her head around to see Tamesis and Linore. Her face began to turn red. "Where in the world were you two?"

"I'm sorry Arabella, but…" Tamesis started, but Arabella didn't want to hear it.

"Tamesis, you left me! Weren't you supposed to protect me? You could have used your magic against that man and…."

"Don't blame me for what happened! You're the one who decided to come here. You wanted to meet him." Tamesis exploded.

"But…"

Tamesis drew a breath and began to explain in a more calm tone. "I'm sorry Arabella, but when the man grabbed you so suddenly…I couldn't help but worry about Linore. What if the man somehow found her as well? So I went in search for her."

"I'm sorry Arabella," Linore murmured. "While I was scouting the house, I flew into a cupboard. I wanted to hurry, so I could go back to you and Tamesis, but I didn't watch where I was going. Before I knew it, a sort of bowl fell and trapped me beneath it."

Arabella looked from Tamesis to Linore, before looking ashamedly down into her lap. "I'm so sorry you two; it's just that I'm scared…"

Linore now stood on Arabella's right shoulder and patted Arabella's head, trying to reassure her. "Everything will be okay. The man isn't that bad; he's just trying to hide you from the others. He's protecting you."

"I guess...but I don't know…I…"

"I understand you're scared, but please slowly get off the bed." Tamesis interrupted.

"W-why? What's wrong with sitting on the bed?" Arabella asked and a squawking noise answered her. She slowly turned her head and was now face to face with a huge bird with piercing yellow eyes. A yelp escaped from Arabella's lips, as she fell off the bed with a thud. The huge bird rose on the bed and Arabella realized that it wasn't a bird. "What the…what is that?"

"A…hippogriff. Stay calm for me Arabella…it may attack at any second." Tamesis placed his hands together and murmured in his fairy language. Arabella bit the bottom of her lip, so she wouldn't scream again, and began to slowly inch further away from the strange beast. The bird…horse…thing squawked again and began moving towards her. "Tamesis…" She whispered.

Tamesis pulled his hands apart and Arabella found herself surrounded by a black force field once again. The…hippogriff must have sensed it, because it began squawking again. It reared back, trying to break the shield around Arabella.

The door opened.

"Buckbeak!" Sirius rushed passed Arabella and pushed the hippogriff back. "Stay down Buckbeak!" He looked back at Arabella and the door. With a flick of his wand, the door closed and the lock clicked. He returned his attention to Arabella. She sat with her knees drawn to her chest and her eyes were wide with fear. "He won't hurt you." He started, referring to Buckbeak. "You just didn't approach him properly. Come on…" He motioned her to come towards him and Buckbeak. She shook her head. "We won't hurt you." He reassured her, looking her dead in the eye.

Chewing on her bottom lip, Arabella stood up and slowly approached Sirius and Buckbeak. A gasp escaped her lips, when Buckbeak began to move. "There's nothing to worry about! Now, you just need to bow to him, without breaking any eye contact. Can you do that for me?" She bent over obediently and kept her eyes locked on the hippogriff's. To her surprise, the animal bowed back. "Good. He should be alright with you now. You can pet him if you like." Arabella stared back at the man as though he was crazy, but regardless outreached her hand tentatively. Buckbeak pressed his beak against her palm and Arabella couldn't help but smile. "That's better…" Sirius moved towards her, but Arabella quickly moved to the other side of Buckbeak, keeping the gentle beast between her and him. "Great, now you like him more than you like me." Arabella said nothing and kept her hands buried in Buckbeak's feathers.

Sirius sighed and his gaze shifted to the ground. A certain sketchbook caught his eye. He picked it up. "Is this yours?" Arabella nodded in response.

He opened the book and, upon no protests from Arabella, proceeded to examine the sketches within it. For the most part, the contents were very good sketches of normal everyday things: a tree, a bus stop, a café, a couple sitting together on a bench… "Is this the park a couple minutes away from here?" He asked, glancing up at her. She nodded and he looked down at the book in his lap again. "I used to go there often as a child." He commented nonchalantly, but the comment intrigued her. He sounded as though…he hadn't been outside in a while. Was he a sort of recluse or something?

Sirius continued to flip through the pages when he came across something interesting. A page with the sketches of what looked to be two fairies; one was male and the other female, dark and light. The next page, to his disbelief, was the sketch of a bowtruckle. On the next page, it was an owl carrying post. On another page, it was the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron from the muggle street in London. The next few pages contained the sketches of the house from the outside. Has she always been able to see this house? Finally he came to the more recent sketches. He was utterly speechless because they were sketches of himself. There was no doubt about it. The resemblance was obvious. How did she draw these just now? He spotted the date scribbled in the lower right hand corner. No, they were drawn a couple of days ago. However, he was absolutely sure she had never seen him before. "Is…is this me?" He asked for clarification. The next thing Sirius knew, the book was snatched from his hands. The color red rose to the top of her cheeks. "It is me, isn't it?"

She nodded.

"How did you know what I looked like? Or about the Leaky Cauldron? Or this house? Are you a witch?"

Arabella flinched. "What! N-no I'm not! I-I've always been able to see what other people can't." An uncomfortable silence arose.

"That's strange," was all he had to say. "They are very good otherwise."

"Thank you." Arabella's voice sounded small. "Ummm…who are you exactly?"

"Oh…" He blinked, realizing he never told her his name. "My name is Sirius."

"Sirus." She repeated and didn't fail to notice the lack of a last name. "I think it'd be inappropriate for me to call you by your first name, since we just met."

Sirius gave her a look of disbelief. "I'd rather you just call me Sirius."

A shy smile appeared on her face. "Alright Sirius. My name is Arabella Roland."

"I know." He said immediately, only to wish to cut his tongue off right after he said those two words. "I mean…I knew that you'd have a lovely name. It's nice to meet you Arabella." He quickly covered up. Arabella looked away, looking slightly flustered and Sirius couldn't help but smile at this.

"Um, Sirius…I…um…I want to go home." She said into her lap. This easily wiped the smile off Sirius' face. In that moment he had forgotten that she didn't belong there with him or in his world. She was a muggle, but in that small moment they shared, he secretly wished it wasn't so.

He sighed. "There's a meeting in this house at about 6:30 and everyone will move to the kitchen afterwards for dinner. That'll be when you can leave without being noticed."

Her head snapped up. "That's about three hours from now! Father will be so worried…"

"It'll be fine. I don't plan on hurting you!" Sirius shouted, getting annoyed with the fact she didn't trust him at all. Arabella flinched. "I'm sorry…" She apologized softly.

"You have nothing to apologize about." Sirius said, calming down and cursing himself for shouting. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"It's alright…I'm being a bit silly I suppose…"

Silence fell again. Buckbeak squawked and moved from in between them; he was no longer separating the two. She sat upon the bed and he sat beside her. He was very much relieved that she made no movement to stay away from him. "I've wanted to meet you. You see…I've seen you many times walking by the house. Many times you're smiling. Sometimes you're even laughing to yourself. You're a strange girl." She gave him a hurt sort of look, and he barked a laugh. "But strange is different and different is good. I'm glad I've been able to meet you."

Arabella tried to look away, but he wouldn't allow her to. His gray eyes bore into her honey brown ones. "I'm glad to have met you too…" She responded, her voice was no higher than a whisper. She noticed his face moving slowly closer and closer to her own. He was too close, much too close and yet Arabella couldn't bring herself to turn away. The tips of their noses were barely touching...

"Sirius Black! Stop hiding and come down here!" A female voice shouted causing both Arabella and Sirius to jump and separate.

"Who's that?" Arabella asked.

"Molly. She probably wants me to help with the cleaning or something…" Sirius groaned.

"Is she your…is she your wife or…"

Sirius recoiled. "Gods no! How terrible my life would be if she was!" Both stared at each other, before bursting out with laughter at Sirius' response. As their laughter died down, Sirius made his way to leave.

"You'll come back soon right?"

He blinked, slightly surprised at the question. "Of course. Don't leave this room and don't answer the door. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Okay."

He shut the door and headed downstairs to Molly. His heart felt as though it was beating too fast and a tingling sensation was present in his stomach. He shook his head. What was he thinking? He was much too old and she was obviously much too young. Yet, he couldn't help, but wish to go back up to her as soon as possible. Then again, she couldn't stay here. She had to go back home and the next time he'd see her would be from his bedroom window.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:**** I've decided to go with a long version of this story. Oh my goodness...I hope I don't bite of more than I can chew.**

**Reviews would be lovely~ and thanks for reviewing!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

**In Which She's Overwhelmed**

Sirius glanced at Mad-Eye. Could he see Arabella from where he sat? Sirius knew that his eye could see past invisibility cloaks, but could it see through solid walls and ceilings? Sirius groaned silently to himself. He wouldn't be surprised if it could and that fact alone just made him all the more anxious. A shiver went down his spine. How long has it been since he had felt this feeling of anxiety? Was what he feeling even anxiety? Maybe he was just excited. Yes, that was it. It was the thrill of breaking the rules, a feeling he knew all too well.

He thought of the girl hidden upstairs. She was very nice and very sweet, maybe too nice and maybe even too sweet. Her demeanor reminded him that of an angel, except in human form. The girl just screamed innocence to him…then again, she **did** sneak into a stranger's house. So perhaps there was a side of her he had yet to discover. Then again…that seemed impossible. There was no possible way he could spend more time with her. She didn't belong in his world; she belonged to the muggle one. Now he wished he had returned to the room as soon as he was done cleaning, to spend time with her, but then everyone else would be suspicious on what he was doing up there. But he's a grown man after all, he didn't have to announce to everyone what he was doing at every second of every day. Except Molly, she would probably bug him about it until he gave her a "sufficient" answer…he could have just said that Buckbeak was sick! They would have believed that! Sirius silently beat himself up for not realizing an excuse earlier in the day…

"Sirius? Sirius?" Remus's voice brought Sirius out of his daze.

"Huh? Oh, uh…I think Remus is definitely right on the matter."

"Sirius, the meeting's over," Remus chuckled.

"I knew that." Sirius stood up.

"Oh, Sirius will you help set the table for dinner?" Molly asked as she scurried around the kitchen.

"Actually I need to go check on Buckbeak, he was acting funny earlier today. Don't know if he's sick or not…" With that he escaped the kitchen and Molly, but Remus followed in suit.

"Is there something on your mind Sirius?" His old friend asked him.

"No, why does it seem that?"

"Um, yes. You were quite dazed out during the meeting, although I do admit the meetings do get rather tiresome at times."

"Yeah, I guess that's it."

"Guess what's it?"

"I don't know. Whatever it was you said…"

Remus peered at him curiously. "You haven't been thinking about that girl again have you?"

"What? Me? No."

Remus sighed. "You're much too old for her." Sirius coughed a name that strangely sounded like "Tonks". Remus shot him a glare, before letting it subside. "I'll go up with you and take a look at Buckbeak for you if you want."

"No, it's fine. Just help Molly in the kitchen," Sirius smoothly declined Remus' offer and hurried upstairs.

As soon as Sirius entered the room, he heard a sigh of relief. "What? Thought I was someone else?" Sirius asked Arabella as he sat beside her.

"Yes and…I was almost worried you wouldn't come back in time. I...have to go home soon or I'll get in huge trouble with my father."

"Hmph, sounds like a strict guy, but I don't think a few more minutes would hurt…" He leaned in a little closer to her and Arabella blushed.

"I'm sorry. I really need to go home," She said, looking down at her hands.

Sirius sighed. "Alright, let's go." He gave her a hand up and led her to the door, without letting it go.

"Ummm, I'd like to see you again."

"You would?" Sirius asked, his voice sounding noticeably brighter.

"Yes. Maybe we could meet at the old park, since I don't think I'd be able to come here again with the other wizards around…"

"Oh…" Sirius' momentary joy was shot down. "I can't leave the house."

"Why not?"

"I can't tell you."

Arabella nodded. "Alright…" She felt heart broken and nearly beat herself up for it. She only just met the man, but it felt like her heart just went out to him.

The rest of the wizards were in the kitchen. Arabella could hear their voices down below. Biting on her lower lip, she held Sirius' hand a little tighter. Sirius squeezed back in reassurance and they descended down the stairs silently together. When they arrived at the door, Arabella looked up at Sirius. It was over. It was all over before it could even begin. "Will…will I ever see you again?"

"Maybe, sometime farther in the future hopefully, when I'm allowed to leave this house."

"I haven't known you for very long, but I wish…I wish I could have gotten to know you better."

"Me too." He whispered, his hand brushing away some hair from her face. Arabella noticed her heart rate increase considerably.

"Sirius!" A voice harshly whispered. Arabella and Sirius jumped and broke away from one another. To Arabella great surprise and Sirius' bad luck, it was Remus. "What is she doing here!" He pointed at Arabella. "How did she even get **in** here?"

"I'll explain later, please Remus don't give me that look. Just let her go and everything will be fine."

"Everything will not be fine. She's not supposed to know about our world Sirius."

"She already knows about it; she's seen the leaky cauldron, bowtruckles… I think knowing about wizards isn't really going to do her any harm," Sirius argued.

"That's not the point Sirius, the point is…"

"Sirius! Remus! Back away from the girl!" A voice ordered and both Sirius' and Remus' stomachs dropped. It was Mad-Eye and he was pointing his wand straight at the terrified Arabella. "Who are you!" The old man barked.

"I-I…" Arabella could feel herself shaking.

Sirius stepped in front of her. "She isn't doing any harm Mad-Eye."

"Then how did she get into the house? Nobody should be able to find this place without being told by the secret-keeper. She must be using some sort of dark magic."

"She isn't a dark witch! Does she look like one to you?"

"Stop being foolish Sirius. Just because she has a cute little face doesn't mean she can't be one. Answer me girl, who are you?"

"A-Arabella Roland."

The old man grumbled. "We're going to need Snape."

"Absolutely not!" Sirius protested.

Arabella gripped the back of Sirius' shirt. "Uh…who's…who's Snape?" She didn't like Sirius reaction to the name and it made her worry.

"That would be me…" A dreary voice announced. Arabella peered around Sirius to see a sickly pale looking man with black hair and clothing. Her eyes grew wide with fear. "Unfortunately Mad-Eye, I don't have any veritaserum with me. So I'd have to return home and retrieve it if you wish to question the girl."

"Wouldn't it be better to just erase her memory and to let her go?" Remus finally spoke up. "This way, whether she is a muggle or a dark witch, she won't have any memories of this place?"

"And let a possible death eater go free?" Mad-Eye grumbled. "You know I don't like the idea of that Remus."

"Then perhaps we should keep her until Dumbledore can give us his opinion on the matter." Snape suggested, his eyes had been on the girl the entire time and was starting to make Arabella feel very uncomfortable.

"I agree with Remus. It'd be better to just erase her memories…" Sirius frowned; he didn't want her to lose her memories, but he didn't want Dumbledore to find out about her either.

Snape now had a terrible smirk on his face. "And why would that be? Afraid he'll take away the only bit of excitement you've seen since you've been here?"

"You bastard I…" Sirius growled, drawing back an arm.

Remus held Sirius' arm back. "Actually, I think it might be best for Dumbledore to see her first and Snape should probably get veritaserum so we can question her to find the truth."

"Remus…" Sirius started.

Remus shook his head. "I think this is the best option. We'll have to keep her in a room with one of us guarding her until Dumbledore shows up. I'm not sure how busy he'll be…but by keeping her in a room we'll be able to keep her away from…"

"Blimey I'm starvin'!" Someone announced on their way down the stairs.

"Don't be pushin' Ron."

"Yeah, we know you can eat like a cow, but really?"

"I'm not pushing anyone!"

All at once four red headed teenagers came down the stairs and stopped to see the group of adults and the young woman they didn't know.

The tallest of the bunch spoke first. "Who's that? Is she a member of the Order too?"

"Shut your mouth boy!" Mad-Eye exclaimed.

"What did I say? I'm just asking a simple question."

Sirius sighed. "Ron, Ginny, Fred and George, it's not really any of your business who this is. Just please, please don't tell your mother…"

It was too late. Molly Weasley had entered the hallway. "What on Earth is taking you lot so long? Dinner's going to get cold if you don't hurry up…who's this?" Molly pushed past her children and Snape and Mad-Eye to get to Arabella. Arabella quickly looked down so she wouldn't have to look the woman in the eye.

"We don't really know. Apparently Sirius had kept her in his room until now…" Remus informed her.

"Woot! Way to go Sirius." Fred cheered.

George added. "Yeah mate, didn't know you still had it in ya."

"Children, into the kitchen." Molly ordered.

"But mom…" Ginny started.

"Now! And not another word!"

"When did you find her Sirius?" Mad-Eye demanded.

"This afternoon…Molly and the children just came back shortly after I found her."

"And you kept her locked up in the room the entire time?" Molly asked with disbelief.

Sirius then said defensively. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"You should have reported her! You know better Sirius." Mad-Eye scolded him.

"Can you blame him Mad-Eye? Sirius rarely gets to see any action…" Snape mentioned smoothly.

"Really Severus? Now is not the time for that." Remus interrupted before Snape could say anything more. "I've just contacted Dumbledore. We'll receive his reply any moment now. For now, let's just keep her in one of the rooms under guard."

"Fine." Sirius muttered. "I'll watch over her then. Everyone else can go eat dinner."

Snape cut in. "I don't think so. You're the one who kept her secret in the first place. I think it'd be best if someone else stood watch over her."

"If you think I'm going to let you stand guard over her…"

Snape sneered. "I have other things I'd rather do than watch over her."

"Alright, alright…" Remus stepped in again. "I'll watch over her, until Dumbledore…"

"You won't have to wait any longer…"

Arabella looked to see an old man, older than Mad-Eye, standing in the hall. He had a long white beard and wore long purple robes. Everyone seemed to move out of the way for Dumbledore to walk up to her. Sirius, however, didn't move an inch. "Sirius…" The man named Dumbledore said calmly. Sirius bit his lip and moved out of the way. Arabella had never felt so small before. "You are Arabella Roland?" Dumbledore asked.

She swallowed before answering. "Yes, yes sir."

"Tell me, how did you find this place?"

"I…uh…you…you won't believe me if I told you sir." She mumbled, staring down at her feet.

"I've heard a lot of strange things and have seen many strange things during my lifetime Miss Roland. I'm sure what you have to say isn't as strange as you may think…"

"But…but Sirius can't even see them. They've been with me all this time and nobody else seems to have noticed them…"

"And what is it he and everyone else can't see Miss Roland?" Dumbledore asked kindly.

"The….fairies…I've had two fairies with me this whole time…"

"Fairies rarely show themselves to other magical folk, let alone muggles," Snape stated in a flat-toned voice.

Dumbledore held up a hand to keep Snape from speaking any further. "Thank you Severus. I don't think Miss Roland is dangerous; she simply has great curiosity…however, we can't be too sure of course. Snape, if you could be so kind to bring veritaserum tomorrow morning. Mad-Eye can question her then."

"B-but…my father…" Arabella spoke up. "If I don't go back home…"

"I will take care of your father Miss Roland. For now you will spend the night here." Dumbledore made his way to the door. "Mad-Eye, I'd like you to report to me the results of her questioning tomorrow."

"Yes sir."

"Good, I hope you all have a pleasant evening." And with that Dumbledore left the scene.

Silence rang throughout the air and Arabella began to feel even more uncomfortable than she was before. What on Earth should she do now? All the…wizards were staring at her now…if only she could melt away into a puddle.

"Well, if nobody objects…I think it's about time we should all have dinner now. Come now Arabella dear…" Mrs. Weasley motioned Arabella to follow her.

"Molly…" Mad-Eye started. "This girl could be a…"

"If she was do you think Dumbledore would have let her stay the night her without further questioning? Dumbledore seems to trust her enough and just look at the poor thing. She looks frightened to death. She seems more like a confused muggle than anything else!" Mrs. Weasley marched forward and took Arabella by the arm. All the men decided to let Mrs. Weasley have it her way. They learned from experience that once Mrs. Weasley set her mind to something, she was very unlikely to change it. "Will you be staying for dinner tonight Severus?" Mrs. Weasley asked politely.

"No, I'd like to prepare the veritaserum for tomorrow." With that the dreary man too left the house.

"I don't know why you bothered asking Molly. He always says no…" Sirius mumbled.

"Sirius…" She said with a warning tone. "Now Arabella you must be hungry. Let's go have dinner shall we?"


	5. Chapter 5

******A/N: Here ya go! Another chapter! Reviews would be really awesome!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

**In Which She Faced Reality**

Arabella was nearly shaking from her head to her feet. The table was so quiet that it felt like she was choking on the silence. On the one side sat the scary old man with the funny eye. He had insisted that he sat beside her in case she tried anything "funny". On the other side sat Sirius, which she wouldn't have minded at all, but he was obviously upset that she had been discovered. In front of her sat Remus, his facial expression grim. In her heart she couldn't help but feel betrayed by him. Why didn't he let her go when he found her and Sirius?

Gripping her hands into fists, she stood up abruptly. "I'm sorry. I'm not very hungry. I think I'll just go wait up in the room with Buckbeak."

"Nonsense!" said Mrs. Weasley. "You shouldn't be staying in the same room as that animal. Who knows how dirty that room may be? Honestly Sirius, couldn't you have the decency to hide her somewhere else?"

"I'm not a barbarian!" Sirius said. "I keep mother's room clean enough and Arabella didn't complain about it. Right Arabella?"

"Well…no…"

"Dear, there is no reason for you to be kind to hide the truth…" said Mrs. Weasley. Sirius settled back into his seat in a sign of defeat. "Now, why don't you tell as a bit about yourself?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "Where do you live? What's your family like?"

"Oh…um…well…I live in Radiance Court with my father and Nana."

"Who's Nana?" One of the boys asked with his mouthful.

"Ronald!" Mrs. Weasley scolded, before Arabella answered. "Nana is our maid. She has watched over me since I was little."

One of the other boys, one of the twins, let out a low whistle. "So…you're a rich girl."

"George!"

The other twin laughed. "I'm George, he's Fred."

"It doesn't matter which is which! You two better not say anything of the likes of that to her!"

"Is your home big?" The young girl asked excitedly.

"I…I guess so. It is a bit big for three people, but the room is needed for when father holds company parties and the like."

"Really! Is there dancing and stuff? Do the people come in fancy dresses?" The girl pressed.

"Well…we don't dance often. Parties are mostly for socializing and networking." Arabella said truthfully.

"That doesn't sound fun at all!" One of the twins exclaimed.

"It does seem rather boring…" Sirius agreed offhandedly.

"It is… it also gets very tiresome hosting the parties as well. Father loves showing me off to all his peers."

Mrs. Weasley's lips puckered. "Your father shouldn't be doing things like that…"

Arabella shook her head. "I don't mind at all. I need practice performing in front of people anyways."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "What is that you do?"

She blushed. "I…play the piano."

"Really!" Remus sounded a bit shocked. "Of course, if you have such an upbringing, I guess it shouldn't be surprising that you're schooled in the arts."

"Yes…my father tried to get me to expand my musical talents, but the only other instrument I learned to play is the violin. He tried to have me take singing lessons, but they went rather horribly."

"What happened? You seem like the type of girl who could sing." Ron asked.

"I can't. My old singing instructor called me an amateur and not suited for classical music. I can barely carry a tune. It takes me a very, very long time to learn to sing a song properly or without running out of breathe or…"

Sirius cut her off. "I think we get it."

"I would love to hear you sometime." Mrs. Weasley said.

"Sing?" Arabella shook her head. "I just said…"

"No…play one of your instruments. Sirius, doesn't your family have a piano lying around somewhere?"

Sirius gave her a look. "Who on Earth has a piano simply lying around? I doubt anybody in my family played anything. Then again, who knows what we will find in this house..."

"Sirius…is this your home?" Arabella asked.

"I guess you can call it that." Sirius mumbled. "Dumbledore is using it for…"

WHACK.

Silence.

Sirius' left cheek was covered in mashed potatoes. Everyone sat in absolute shock. Arabella turned slowly to her left to look at the scary man next to her. He was eating like nothing happened at all.

"Mad-Eye…" Sirius growled. "You're a full grown wizard! Can't you use your wand!"

"I'm sorry my hand slipped. My grip isn't like it used to be." The older man grumbled.

Arabella couldn't help but laugh. For a grumpy old man, this "Mad-Eye" person was quite humorous. Sirius on the other hand didn't think it was that funny. "Will you stop laughing?" He asked Arabella.

"S-sorry…it was just so unexpected…" She took her napkin and began to help Sirius clean the potatoes of his face.

Sirius took the napkin from her. "I can do it myself…"

Arabella simply smiled up at him.

Remus cleared his throat. "Maybe Sirius should switch places with someone else…"

"I wouldn't mind switching with Sirius!" Fred raised his hand.

"Neither would I!" George chimed in.

"Nobody is switching with anyone." Mrs. Weasly announced. "Honestly, we've only just started eating. Let's just eat in peace…without any food fights…" She glared over at Mad-Eye, who continued eating without a care.

"Oh, isn't Hermione coming tomorrow morning?" Ginny asked.

"That's right. Could you put the bed sheets on her bed? I forgot to do that earlier today…"

"Isn't Harry coming here tomorrow night too?" George spoke up.

"Who's Hermione and Harry?" Arabella decided to ask.

"She's the smartest girl at our school and Harry…" said Ron.

Arabella's eyes brightened up. "So…you guys have a magic school then?"

The table went quiet, before Fred frowned. "Way to go Ronald…"

Arabella was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable again. "I'm sorry, but can I ask something? Why is it you guys live in secret?"

"Well, it's almost always been this way," Remus informed her. "Ever since the beginning wizards have had to be careful of muggles…"

"What's a muggle?"

"A person that can't use magic. You see, if we were to make our existence known, then muggles would come to wizards for help with a lot of things…it's best that we keep our worlds separate." Remus explained.

"I see…"

The rest of the dinner went along with light chatter about this and that. The children, particularly Ron, were cut off many times to keep from slipping more information about the wizarding world, so most of the conversation was focused on Arabella instead.

By the end of dinner everyone was pleasantly full. Mrs. Weasley charmed the plates into the sink, while everyone was still sitting around the dining table. There was only one issue left. What to do with Arabella for the night?

"Since no one extra is staying the night, she can use one of the spare rooms." Mrs. Weasley suggested.

"We'll have to take shifts watching her…" Mad-Eye grumbled.

"It isn't necessary for you and Remus to stay here." Sirius started. "I can just watch her the whole night."

Mad-Eye laughed. "And have you try and sneak her out again? I don't think so."

"I'm not going to! You all already know about her now so…"

"Personally I think Sirius just wants some one on one time with Arabella." Fred and George snickered. Their younger brother and sister blushed along with Arabella.

"Will you lot please go to your rooms now? There's nothing left to see here…" Mrs. Weasley ordered, starting to push them out of the kitchen.

Remus sighed. "Listen Sirius, I know how you might…feel about this situation. But you don't have the credibility to…"

"I don't mind if you and Molly watch her, but Mad-Eye…" Sirius had nothing against the ex-auror, however he didn't want Mad-Eye to start frightening the girl, or threatening her, or anything crazy for that matter.

"If anyone should watch over here it should be me…" Mad-Eye growled.

"Ummm…" Arabella spoke up. "It's still pretty early so I'd like to…uh…" Her courage faltered. There was no way she could bring herself to say it. She just looked at Sirius.

"Well then, how about this…" Remus started. "Arabella can stay with Sirius until midnight. Then while she's sleeping I can watch over her. You have things to take care of don't you Mad-Eye? You said something about it earlier tonight."

Mad-Eye grumbled something incoherent, before agreeing. "Fine. I'm counting on you Remus."

Glad that the matter was settled, Sirius took Arabella's hand and took her upstairs again.

"I'm sorry…for making you have to fight with your friends."

Sirius shook his head. "I don't mind much really. I would have felt bad if you were stuck with Mad-Eye of all people for the rest of the night."

She couldn't help but smile. "Are we going back to Buckbeak's room?"

"Yeah, I can't take you to my room because it…well…it's a bit messy…" Sirius said, the picture of muggle pin up posters came to mind as he said it. He really should get around to taking those down. He wasn't a teenager anymore anyways. The thought made him flinch; it reminded him of his age.

When they reached his Mother's room, Arabella went right up to Buckbeak and began petting him. "Sirius, what will happen to me tomorrow? I still don't really understand…they said something about veritseum or something…?"

"Oh, veritaserum is a potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth. So there isn't really anything for you to worry about, you'll end up just saying everything you already told them."

She sighed with relief, but frowned. "What will happen to me after? I'll have to leave right?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Will they just let me go then? Without doing anything?"

"We wouldn't do anything to harm you. You haven't done anything wrong…well except for breaking an entry…" He chuckled lightly, but it died almost immediately.

Her eyebrow rose. "What's wrong?"

"Well…" He debated on whether he should tell her not. In the end he decided it was best for her to know as much as she can. "…afterwards, they'll probably wipe your memory before you can go home."

She smiled sadly, her fingers still buried in Buckbeak's feathers. "I'm not surprised." Her hand clenched, causing Buckbeak to squawk. "But I don't want to forget about you Sirius."

Without giving it a second thought, he reached out and turned her around. Before she could say a word, he kissed her. It was as though her lips were electric. The feeling of them against his own gave him a thrill he hadn't felt in a while. As he pulled away, Arabella moved in to steal another kiss. Wrapping her arms around him, she didn't want to separate. Before she knew it, her hands were beginning to shake. "I really don't want to forget you Sirius." She repeated.

He couldn't think of a word to say that could provide comfort to her. He laid her out on the bed and admired her beauty, before going in for another kiss. She accepted it happily. The kisses, the touches, the small moans, they seemed to last an eternity, until Sirius stopped and simply held her close to him.

Together they felt each other breathing, each other's warmth, and each other's heart beats.

"Sirius…I…"

He kissed the top of her head. "Don't worry Arabella. Even if you forget, I won't forget. So don't worry…"

Arabella choked a sob and buried her face into his chest.

"_If only…"_

"_If only…"_

"_If only…"_

These two accursed words, in the end, couldn't change a thing, no matter how much they prayed, no matter how much they wished. They could only cherish the short amount of time they had together and wait until the clock stroke midnight.


	6. Chapter 6

******A/N: Starting to feel very pumped to write the rest of this story~! **

**Of course, thank you to everyone reading, reviewing, alerting (if that makes sense?) and favoriting. It means alot~!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

**In Which She Made a Wish**

When Arabella woke up, she was in the spare room. The walls were a pale cream color and lacked in any sort of room décor. Remus was no longer sitting in the chair in the corner, so it must had been morning at least.

She flopped over to the edge of the bed and reached down to pick up her bag. Swinging it onto the bed, she flipped open her sketchbook and began sketching away: the inside of the house, the Weasleys, Remus, Mad-Eye, Buckbeak, and Sirius. She did many, many quick sketches of Sirius, even a few with the two of them together. Even though they were only sketches, they made a blush rise on her cheeks. She felt very foolish drawing sketches of them together, but she didn't want to forget him. If she made sketches of him, maybe it would trigger her memory if she looked at them later. Of course the plan seemed a bit far-fetched, but she'd rather have some hope than none at all. The thought of not being able to remember Sirius pained her heart greatly and the only way to calm it was to continue sketching.

"Arabella!" Linore popped up on one shoulder.

"Have you been alright?" Tamesis added."

"I've been fine. Sirius has been so nice to me after all." She said without looking up from her sketchbook.

Linore and Tamesis looked at each other a bit worried. "What about the wizards? What will they do to you?"

"Well, Sirius says that when after they question me…they'll let me go, but…they'll erase my memory…" Before she knew it, her eyes began to swell with tears.

Tamesis frowned. "Please don't start crying Arabella. It could have turned out a lot worse!"

Linore slapped him on the back of the head. "Can't you see she's in love? She'll forget meeting Sirius!"

"Linore!" Tamesis shushed her. "Do you want us to do something?"

She shook her head. "I'll be fine. Isn't it a full moon tonight? You both need to go back to the colony right?"

"We'll come see you in the morning alright?" Linore said.

"I'm not even sure if I'll be here in the morning…"

"We'll wait at your home then. Everything will be alright Arabella." Tamesis reassured her. "Open your hand Arabella."

She held out her hand and in it he placed something small in it. When he was out of the way, she saw it more clearly. It was a tiny golden whistle attached to a string. "What is this?"

"I got special permission from the Queen to give you this kind of magic. If you get into trouble, call me and Linore with this."

Arabella kissed Tamesis atop the head. "Thank you Tamesis, I'll keep it safe." She put the necklace around her neck.

Tamesis tried wiping the kiss off his head. "Let's go Linore."

A couple of hours must have passed when a knock came from the door. Arabella looked up to see Sirius peeking his head in. "It's almost one in the afternoon. You haven't had breakfast yet."

She closed her book. "I just wanted to sketch some things really fast."

Sirius entered the room and sat beside her on the bed. "Can I see it?" He reached for it as he asked.

Arabella kept it out of his reach. "No…"

He grinned. "Did you draw more pictures of me?"

She nodded with a furious blush on her face. "Even if I have my memory wiped, I'll still have these pictures to look at…"

His grin couldn't get any larger. In a flash he was on top of her, kissing her breathe away. "You're so adorable," he whispered, making Arabella as red as she could possibly turn.

"Sirius Black! Get off the poor girl!" Came a shout, from none other than Mrs. Weasley. Sirius' face paled visibly as he rolled of Arabella. Arabella felt like she could die right then and there. "To think I'd come up here and find you…you…to think you'd take advantage of this poor girl."

Sirius sighed; he should have locked the door. "It's not as bad as you…"

"What? 'Not as bad as I think'?" She asked rather furious. "This girl is but a baby! You can't just…"

Arabella stepped in. "Please Mrs. Weasley! Sirius wasn't doing anything wrong! He was just…" She began to blush again. "He was just…"

Sirius grinned, but wiped the grin right off his face when he saw the look on Mrs. Weasley's face. He coughed. "Let's just head down, shall we?" He looked to Arabella and led her downstairs. Mrs. Weasley made a face, before heading back down the stairs again, ahead of them.

"Sirius…"

"Hm?" She stopped walking for a moment. Sirius looked slightly worried. "Is something wrong?"

She bit her tongue, before shaking her head. "Nevermind."

He smiled. "Let's go down then. Hermione arrived this morning, so you should enjoy talking with her. She's a muggle-born."

"A muggle-born?"

"She's a witch born to non-magical parents."

"There are people like that?" She asked surprised.

"Yes, it's not unnatural."

"Hm…I wish I was like that…"

He squeezed her hand a little more tightly. "You don't need to wish for something like that." She smiled weakly and hugged him from behind.

"Why are you so adorable?" He asked as he turned around so he could kiss her.

"Ah yeah. Get'em Sirius!"

"Woot! Woot!"

The twins had come down the stairs, with the younger brother Ron.

"You two haven't seen Hermione around lately right?" Ron asked.

"No…why?" Sirius asked, separating himself from Arabella.

"She's been trying to get me to read some strange book she got recently…"

"Oh…" They all looked to see a girl with bushy brown hair come out from the kitchen. "I just finished eating lunch. You must be Arabella. Mrs. Weasley was telling me about you. I'm Hermione Granger." She held out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you Hermione." Arabella shook her hand. "Sirius tells me that you're…muggle-born?" She wasn't sure if she was using the right word or not.

"That's right; are you also a muggle-born witch?"

"No, I'm a…normal muggle?"

"That's fascinating. I wonder how you're able to see this house then…you know muggles seeing the magical world is actually pretty common, in children that is. How old are you now?" Hermione spoke very quickly. It alarmed Arabella a bit.

"I'm eighteen…" She managed.

"I guess it's kind of strange for someone your age to be able to see things...maybe you're like a muggle psychic, although many actually turn out to be actual witches and wizards in disguise…"

"I've never thought about me being a psychic or anything like that…" She said, feeling a bit awkward.

"Mrs. Weasley also mentioned to me that you're able to see fairies. Are they here with you? Could I by any chance see them? It'd be so wonderful if…"

Arabella shook her head. "They don't show themselves to humans really. The only reason they show themselves to me was because…well…I can't really say. Um…the fairies are very secretive. Even I shouldn't be able to see them; but I guess you could say I'm under…special circumstances?"

"Aww, that's too bad…where do you live anyways?"

"In Radiance Court."

"Really! Wow! I've heard it's really nice in that area. Didn't they build a new shopping mall near that area?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"They did, but I haven't been there yet. I'm rather busy with school, work, private lessons…"

"So you're at the university? What do you study?"

"Music and on some week nights I play music at the La Nuit…" Arabella answered. "…If my father doesn't put up a fit that is…" She added.

"You mean that five star restaurant? That's amazing!"

"Thank you."

Hermione dragged her to the kitchen. "You have to tell me more about it; my friend's father took her there for her birthday and she said it was lovely…"

Sirius made a face. He didn't have much more time to spend time with Arabella. Before he could go after the two girls, the sound of the door opening distracted him. When he looked to see who was coming, his heart sank. It was Mad-Eye and Snape.

"Sirius, where's the girl?" Mad-Eye asked.

"In the kitchen…are you guys going to question her now?"

"I'd rather get this over with as soon as possible," Snape drawled.

"I thought Mad-Eye was going to be the only one questioning her!" Sirius said.

"Dumbledore couldn't be here today, so he's giving me orders to ask a few questions and to return her home afterwards." Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but Snape cut him off. "It's not like you can return her to where she belongs; you're not allowed to go outside. Now out of my way."

Snape pushed passed Sirius to get to the kitchen. Hermione was talking excitedly with Arabella at the table.

"I'm so happy that I found another fan of his! Not a lot of people at school has heard about his music, since he's a muggle and all…" Hermione's voice died off when she noticed the potions teacher.

"Miss Roland, we're going to question you now." Snape announced. "Follow me…"

Arabella looked to Hermione a bit worried, and Hermione tried to give her a look of reassurance. "Hurry up," Snape said a little louder. Arabella jumped slightly before hurriedly following him out of the room.

In the hall Sirius snatched Arabella by the wrist. "I want to sit in on the questioning."

"Do you honestly have to involve yourself with everything Black? You're not needed so don't interfere," Snape said reaching for Arabella.

Arabella hid behind Sirius. "I-I'd feel more comfortable, if Sirius was with me."

Snape made a face of slight disgust before agreeing. "Fine, let's just go."

Snape, Sirius, Mad-Eye and Arabella went back to the room she had slept in the night before. She sat on the bed, and Sirius sat next to her, holding her hand all the while. Snape took something out of his robes and gave it to her, a vial. "Drink it."

"What is it?" She took the vial gingerly.

"It'll ensure that you'll answer all our questions truthfully. Drink it." Snape ordered again.

She looked at Sirius, who nodded, before drinking it.

"Alright then," Mad-Eye clasped his hands together. "Are you working for You-Know-Who?"

Arabella gave him a funny look; she didn't even know who 'You-Know-Who' referred to. "No."

"How did you break into this house?"

"Two fairies helped me."

"How did they help you?"

"One went inside to unlock the door and the other put a force field around me so I can get through any barriers."

"And how is it you, a muggle, can see fairies?"

"They chose to show themselves to me."

"And have you always been able to see this house?"

She nodded. "Ever since I was a little girl."

"So before now, did you know about the existence of witches and wizards?"

She nodded. "The fairies told me about them sometimes…"

Mad-Eye seemed satisfied and turned to Snape so he could ask his questions. Snape walked right up in front of the girl, making her feel a bit uncomfortable. "So, tell me, why did you decide to come into the house?"

Arabella bit her lower lip.

"Answer the question," Snape demanded.

"A few days ago, the fairies told me about how wizards had moved into this house, even though none have lived here for a long time. They told me about Sirius and I wanted to meet him."

"That's it?"

She nodded, blushing slightly. "Yes."

"How foolish…"

"Leave her alone Snape!" Sirius growled, but Snape ignored him. "And what happened when you first met Black?"

"He found me on the staircase and took me into Buckbeak's room."

"And then?"

"He didn't come back until evening, around that time I was discovered."

"You seem rather attached to a man you've only just met, why is that?"

Sirius stood up. "She doesn't have to answer that question!"

"Believe me I could care less about this. These are only Dumbledore's orders."

Arabella slapped her hand to her mouth in attempt to keep herself from answer the question. Of course, it was to no avail. "It's because I l-l-like him a lot. When I think of him, my heart…I don't know…but please don't erase my memory! I don't want to forget meeting him; my heart couldn't take it I…"

"Silence," Snape had enough. He looked over to Mad-Eye. "I already said it was unlikely that she was associated with the Dark Lord, but this interrogation session only confirms it. Thank God it didn't take too long." Snape whipped out his wand and pointed it at Arabella.

She scooted away. "What are you doing?"

"Now that we've finished questioning you, I have to take you home, but first I have to wipe your memory."

"Please don't! Please! I don't want to forget! I can't forget Sirius! Please!" Arabella begged.

Sirius couldn't bear to watch. He took Arabella into his arms, hugging her tight. "I already told you not to worry Arabella. I will always remember you, but after today, you won't be allowed to come here ever again. It'll be better this way. It'll be best for you to forget meeting me…" As he said these "comforting" words, he couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to convince Arabella or himself, probably both.

Arabella was trying her best not to cry, but the tears flooded down anyways. Snape actually had the heart to allow the two to have their "moment", until Arabella turned to face him. She nodded, her eyes shut tight and her hand clenching Sirius'.

She had never given much thought about religion before, never believed in any one god or deity. However, in that moment she prayed, wished, with all her might for such a deity to exist and for them to grant her just one wish: for the spell that would soon wipe her memory to fail.

"_I don't want to forget Sirius."_

This was the wish she prayed for with all her heart.


	7. Chapter 7

******A/N: The next chapter might take a while to come out, since I decided change the plot than I had originally planned.**

**Quite a few page breaks in this chapter, sorry 'bout that.**

**As usual, thanks to all who are reading and to all who have reviewed up to this point!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

**In Which She Begins to Question**

_Knock. _

_Knock._

_Knock._

In a bed a young woman slept soundly, until the sound of knocking came to her door. Arabella Roland opened her eyes slowly, a bit hazy. She looked towards the door and saw it crack open.

"Arabella?"

It wasn't Nana. "Father?" she said, her voice coming out a lot softer than she'd expected.

"I brought some porridge…Nana made it of course, but still I…" Her father seemed a bit uncomfortable as he walked in with the tray of food.

"What happened?"

"You fell ill at school a couple days ago. You've been sleeping ever since then…" He placed the tray on her lap. "You should eat."

Even though she could hear what her father was saying, she couldn't really understand it. Instead of saying anything, she grabbed her spoon and slowly began to eat. She ate in silence and with each second that passed by her father became more and more uncomfortable. "Ethan came to visit you while you were sleeping. Those are the flowers he brought you." He pointed to the beautiful bouquet placed in a glass vase beside her bed.

She gazed over at them, before returning to her meal. "They're really pretty."

"Remember to thank him later."

"Of course…"

Sighing, her father got up. "I'll leave you now. I'll call for a doctor later."

Arabella shook her head. "I think I'll be fine."

Her father raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I'm just a little woozy that's all."

He smiled, before leaning in to plant a kiss on her head. "Get better soon alright? I'll be in my office if you need anything…" He closed the door behind him after he left the room.

"Arabella!"

A loud energetic voice surprised her greatly. She almost spat out her porridge. "Linore?"

"We were so worried that you weren't going to wake up!"

"You mean **you **were so worried that she wasn't going to wake up." Tamesis appeared besides Linore. "Those wizards wouldn't do anything to harm her."

"Do you remember what happened Arabella?" Linore asked.

"Um…I guess I feinted in class or something. I can't really remember. Father said I was asleep for the past few days…"

Linore's light dimmed slightly. "You…don't remember…" She turned red and angry in an instant. "Those stupid wizards! How could they do this to you!"

Tamesis glared at Linore. "It's for the best! If she remembered then she'd be heartbroken right now…"

"What are you two talking about?" Arabella asked, raising an eyebrow. What was this talk about wizards? Did something happen while she was asleep?

"It's nothing." Tamesis said abruptly. "How are you feeling now anyways?"

Arabella stirred her porridge absent mindedly. "I'm not really sure how I'm feeling…tired…maybe even…almost hollow. I feel like I'm missing something, but I'm not sure what. And the way you two are bickering…it makes me feel like I really am missing something…"

Tamesis placed his small hands on hers. "Don't worry about it anymore Arabella. You just need to focus on getting better."

Linore frowned, but nodded in agreement.

Arabella smiled. "I'm so glad I have you two with me."

When she finished her porridge, she carried the tray downstairs.

"Arabella!" Nana shouted, snatching the tray away from her. "You should have rang the bell or something. I would have gotten the tray from you myself! You need to rest!"

"I'm feeling much better now though Nana. I want to go outside."

"But you've only just woken up…"

"But don't you think the fresh air will do me some good?" Arabella asked.

Nana contemplated this for a moment. "I suppose; I need to pick up some things for tonight's dinner. We'll have to ask for your father's permission first."

Arabella grinned. "I'll go change!"

* * *

><p>Nana and Arabella walked back together with a few grocery bags in their hands. They were walking down the normal route through Grimmauld Place. Arabella stopped abruptly and looked up at the mysterious house number 12. It loomed above her as it always did and she was the only one could see it, like always.<p>

Nana sighed. "Arabella…"

"Are you sure you can't see it Nana?"

"No I can't see it. Now let's hurry along."

Nana's words weren't audible to Arabella. Instead she began to walk towards the house. It felt as though there was an aching need in her chest to go inside, which was strange, because of the many times she had walked by the house, she had never felt this need before. What was inside the house? Was there something inside she absolutely needed to see?

Whatever it was it called to her…but was it really calling? She couldn't tell if it was her imagination or not and yet she felt herself moving forward step by step.

"Arabella!" Nana shouted, snapping her back to reality.

Arabella blinked and realized she had stopped right in front of the steps of the house. The groceries she had were now scattered on the ground.

"Oh dear, I guess it wasn't a good idea to take you outside at all." Nana said, beginning to pick up the fallen groceries.

"Ah…" Arabella nodded, looking up at the house one last time, before helping Nana.

"Let's hurry up home now, alright?"

She nodded again. "Yes, Nana."

The two went on their way, and Arabella didn't notice the shadow in one of the house's windows.

After being yelled at by Nana for trying to help put the groceries away, Arabella was sent back to her room to rest. However, she was nowhere near tired. She felt so restless for some reason and had no way to release the excess energy.

Her sketchbook.

Where was that thing anyways? She looked her around her room and found the said book and flipped it open. Perhaps she'd sketch something random to get her mind off things. She vacantly flipped through the pages for a clean page, when she stopped on a certain page of a man. The next page had the same man, so did the next page, and the next page.

Arabella frowned. She couldn't remember ever sketching this and it almost scared her how many times she had drawn the man. She began turning each page more slowly, so that she could imagine each sketch in hopes that it would jog her memory of who this man was, but she still couldn't remember. There were pictures of other people as well; people she knew she had never met. Finally, on the last few pages she had drawn on, there were pictures of her and the man together. She shut the book close with a red blush on her face. Why on Earth would she draw something like that? Maybe the man was just a character she made up? Of course that only made her feel even sillier.

She opened the book again, her fingers tracing the man's face. Who was he?

"Sirius…"

The name rolled off her tongue in a whisper.

Eh?

What was this?

"Sirius…"

Just saying the name made her stomach jolt.

She collapse on her bed, the sketchbook completely ignored. She could remember his face clearly and his touch against her skin, but she could not remember meeting this man. She couldn't understand it.

* * *

><p>The wave of customers was slow at the café that day. It added to the casual laid-back ambiance. With the natural sunlight pouring through the large windows, it was a calm and warm place to hang out and sip a cup of coffee.<p>

In the one of the far corners of the café, there sat two girls, one with short and wild red hair, ripped black jeans and a band t-shirt, and the other with flowing brown locks and a light blue denim dress.

"So let me get this straight…" The one with the red hair started. "You think you're in love…with a man you've never met?"

"Yes Ann! I know it sounds crazy, but whenever I see his face I…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…you have his picture? Tell me that kind of thing first!" Ann asked, grinning like a mad man.

Arabella fiddled with her fingers. "Not exactly…" She dug into her bag and handed Ann her sketchbook. "I marked the page so…"

"Damn!" Ann was taken aback. "Your drawings are as good as always, but this man is fine. You know, I feel like I've seen him before. Not sure where."

Arabella practically jumped out of her seat. "You've seen him before too!"

"Sit down! People are going to think you've gone bonkers or something…" Ann pulled her down. She then stared at the picture for a few more seconds. "Girl, are you sure this is the guy?"

"Yes!"

"And you say his name is 'Sirius'?" Ann asked for clarification.

Arabella nodded. "I'm pretty sure of it…"

Ann began shaking her head. "There is no way. No bloody way!" She said, placing the sketchbook down on the table.

"Why? What's wrong?" Arabella asked worriedly.

"Do you remember a couple of years ago the whole country was on the lookout for a mass murderer or something?"

Arabella's face paled. She did remember something like that. "You can't think that…" Arabella didn't want to believe something like that; there was no way he was a murderer. She couldn't have fallen for a murderer.

Ann nodded sadly. "I'm positive it's the same guy, Sirius Black. I mean…you definitely cleaned him up a bit compared to his wanted posters a couple of years ago…" Ann saw the look on Arabella's face. "Please don't look like that Arabella. Besides, there is **no **way you've met him before, since he's like a criminal and stuff. It was probably a dream or something…or rather a nightmare..."

Arabella cried. "It wasn't a dream though! I swear!"

"But you were sick weren't you? Are you still hallucinating or something?" Ann leaned across the table to check Arabella's temperature with the back of her hand.

Arabella swatted it away.

"Besides," Ann continued. "Now isn't the time to worrying about a man that doesn't even exist. Didn't you say something about Ethan Spencer's birthday?"

She nodded. "Yes, I'm going to be playing an original piece for him about two weeks from now."

"Have you started on it yet?"

"No," she said shaking her head. "A lot's been on my mind."

Ann frowned. "You mean one thing. Just forget about it Arabella. You were at home sick. You didn't go anywhere and you didn't meet anybody."

"Alright, alright!" Arabella caved in. "I didn't meet anybody."

"There." Ann took the last sip of her coffee. "Let's go shop for your party dress!"

"I don't want to get new dress…"

"Nope! You have no choice in the matter!" Ann pulled her up and dragged herself out the door. "Remember this Arabella... 'Shopping heals all wounds!'"

The two friends spent a couple of hours at different shops throughout London, trying on different dresses and other kinds of clothing. In short, Ann did a very good job in keep Arabella preoccupied.

"Darn, my mum's got a night shift today, so I gotta get home to watch my little sister." Ann announced, looking down at her wrist watch.

"Ah, alright, and I'll ask Ethan if I can bring a friend to the party. I'm sure he won't mind," said Arabella.

"Serious? You're the best Bella!" Ann gave her a good slap on the back before heading down the opposite street.

Sighing with content, Arabella began her walk home. The sun had only just began to set as she walked down the familiar streets and went down the street with the invisible pub no one else could seem to see. She walked up to the door.

She shouldn't go in. Tamesis had warned her many times over and probably would warn her many times again, that it was dangerous to go into places since other people couldn't see them. Yet…there she was standing in front of the door. She had that strange feeling she should go inside…maybe this was simply curiosity?

Arabella shook her head. It was the same feeling she felt when she saw Grimmauld Place sometime ago yesterday.

Just as she reached for the door handle, a voice came from behind her. "Are you just going to stand there all day or are you going in?"

She turned around to see a rather well-dressed man who screamed importance. His dark green and black attire, his long blond hair combed back and to one side, square jaw, the interesting looking cane, everything about the man overwhelmed Arabella a bit.

"Umm…yes…?" She found herself walking into the pub, the Leaky Cauldron.

There were a few people in the pub. A few rags were wiping off empty tables on their own and random items flying all around. Once again, Arabella couldn't bring herself to move. What was all this?

"Welcome Mr. Malfoy," said the man behind the bar. "And…I'm sorry, I don't know who you are miss."

"Oh…uh…I'm Arabella Roland." Arabella found herself introducing herself.

"What can I do for ya today Miss Roland?"

"Oh no I didn't really need to come in, I was just surprised when…uh…" She looked over at the man named Mr. Malfoy, before backing up towards the door. "Please excuse me."

Arabella practically ran out the door. Her heart was beating so fast. She shouldn't have gone in. She shouldn't have gone in!

"Miss Roland was it?"

Arabella stopped abruptly and realized that Mr. Malfoy had followed her out of the Leaky Cauldron. "Ah…um…yes?"

"You dropped this." He handed her one of the shopping bags she didn't even noticed she dropped.

"T-thank you, um…"

"Lucius Malfoy."

She dipped into a curtsy. "Very nice to meet you Mr. Malfoy. Thank you for returning my bag."

"It's very rare you see a witch your age with such manners."

Arabella gave him a quizzical look. "Uh…a witch?"

Lucius Malfoy arched an eyebrow. "Tell me…Miss…Roland, what does that sign say?" He pointed his cane at the pub's sign.

"The L-leaky Cauldron…" Arabella gasped and then smiled. "So you can see the sign too!" She realized, or should have realized earlier when Mr. Malfoy went into the pub in the first place. Nevertheless, she grinned the largest she'd grinned in days. She'd never felt so excited. No one else could ever see things she could.

"Naturally…" He said with a slight sneer

Arabella bit her lip. "Oh, well I'm sorry." She apologized, thinking that she had offended him in some way. "It's just I never met anyone else who could see it…not that I think you're crazy or anything! I'm really sorry!"

"There's no need to apologize like a bumbling fool."

"I'm sorry! I mean…I should…I should just be going…" Feeling incredibly flustered, Arabella tried to hurry off; however, Mr. Malfoy stopped her, the head of his cane on her shoulder.

"Hold it, Miss Roland. I must say you've struck my curiosity."

"Oh, that's really flattering...um...thank you?" At this point Arabella wasn't really sure what to say anymore.

"Is it?" Mr. Malfoy arched a blond eyebrow. "You're quite interesting for a lowly muggle. We should meet again soon…"

Arabella blinked relatively stunned. "S-sure…" She found herself saying.

"Then let's meet here again, around noon next Saturday? How does that sound?"

"F-fine. That's…fine?"

"Excellent," He said with a satisfied smirk. "Until then Miss Roland." He gave a nod goodbye and disappeared back into the Leaky Cauldron.

Arabella could barely comprehend what just happened. All she could do was wonder: who on Earth was that man?


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:...I absolutely dislike Lucius Malfoy. Why did I put him in this story!? It was so hard to write him...and in the end I'm still not completely satisfied! But since I've brought him into the story, I shall press ahead and try writin' him the best I can. Ha ha...God...(TT_TT)**

**Anyways, thanks for reading, thanks for those who've reviewed and followed this story so far. It's so much appreciated! ^w^**

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight<strong>

**In Which She is Enchanted**

Arabella stood by herself near the hidden pub known as the Leaky Cauldron. She had a finger twirled in her hair, while one foot was tapping constantly. She was nervous, so much so that she was about to leave, after all she had arrived half an hour early.

Sighing to herself, and believing it would be for the best, she made way to leave, until his regal voice called out to her.

"Leaving already? We haven't even gone inside yet."

A shiver shot down her spine as Arabella turned to see Mr. Malfoy standing behind her. Her eyes were wide, like a deer caught in headlights.

An arm slipped around her shoulders. "Come, let's go inside." He motioned towards the pub with his free arm.

Her feet felt as though they had a mind of their own. She allowed Mr. Malfoy to lead her inside.

"Mr. Malfoy, a pleasure to see you again," greeted the bartender. He was the same balding man she saw the last time she came here. "And it's nice to see you as well, Miss Roland was it?" He said to Arabella, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Y-yes." She nodded.

"Tom, a private room if you please," said Mr. Malfoy, placing what looked to be gold on the bar's counter.

"A private room?" Arabella croaked.

"Of course, if we were to stay here, then other people would be bound to listen in on our conversation. I prefer privacy." He took Arabella and followed Tom upstairs. "There's no need to worry," he said now in a low voice. "I am not the kind of man who would do anything…indecent to someone like **you**."

Arabella could only stare straight ahead, hoping that Mr. Malfoy could not see how red her face probably was.

The two followed Tom up a winding staircase until he opened a room for them. The room itself was much more spacious than Arabella had been expecting. It was generously furnished with leather chairs and a matching sofa, cherry wood tables, and paintings on its walls. The paintings themselves demanded Arabella's attention for they seemed to moving on their own, like people would on a television.

"Anythin' else you be needin' Mr. Malfoy?" Tom asked before excusing himself.

He glanced down at Arabella with narrow eyes. Her full attention was still on the various paintings hanging around the room. "I suppose you can bring up some tea and a treacle tart."

"Of course, Mr. Malfoy." Tom gave a small bow before taking his leave.

Lucius took this moment to get a closer look at the muggle girl. She was thin, rich brown hair, large dark brown eyes; admittedly, she was a pretty little thing. From her knee length skirt to her stuttering speech, her presence screamed innocence to him, but she was still a muggle, a lowly muggle.

"Do muggles even eat treacle tart?" he wondered aloud.

Her eyes snapped from the painting she was examining to him. "Muggles?"

Ignoring her, he sat upon on of the chairs in the room near a table, his gloved hands crossed. "Sit down." His hand waved over to the empty chair close by.

She obliged hesitantly. "So…um…what's a muggle?"

"Do you like treacle tart or not? Do you even know what it is?" Lucius asked, without answering her question.

"Of-of course I know what it is! And I happen to like it very much!"

Lucius twiddled with his thumbs. "There is no reason to shout." He said. Blushing, she her eyes darted around the room, keeping her sights set on anything but Lucius. "So tell me, how long have you been able to…see the Leaky Cauldron?"

Arabella frowned before answering. "I remember seeing it when I was little, when my father would take me out for Sunday brunch…"

"And your father," Lucius cut in. "He is…able to see it as well?"

She shook her head. "No. Nobody I've ever met has been able to see it…or anything else for that matter…" She added.

"And what, pray tell, else is there?"

"Well…nothing really…ha ha…" Arabella laughed weakly.

"If you're going to lie, you can at least put some effort into it." He said bluntly. Arabella's stomach felt as though it dropped a thousand kilometers. "Tell me, are you good at anything?" He asked.

"I can play piano?" She said, scratching her ear.

"Was that a question or an answer?"

"An answer!" Arabella exclaimed, slamming her hand on the table. "I can play the piano very well!"

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "I already said this before, but there's no need to shout. We're indoors. My word, muggles are more barbaric than I thought."

"I still have no idea what a 'muggle' is, but it's quite obvious that you don't seem to like me very much **Mr. Malfoy**!" She frowned, having just about enough of him and his condescending tone. Without another word, Arabella snatched up her bag and stood to her feet. "So if you would kindly excuse **me**, I think I shall take my leave."

She stormed towards the door, only to discover it was locked. Feeling utterly foolish, her fingers fumbled with the lock. For some reason it wouldn't turn. Red with embarrassment, and from her previous outburst, Arabella turned to Lucius. "I'm sorry Mr. Malfoy, but is there something wrong with this door?"

A devilish grin appeared on his face. "Poor Tom hasn't even brought in the tea and tart yet. You should at least stay a little while longer for that, right? Don't you think it'd be rude to leave now?"

Arabella's stomach felt as though it dropped a thousand meters.

"Why don't you come here Miss Roland? I have something I'd like to show you." He cooed.

Her eyes had a worried look, a young doe trapped in the headlights.

"Don't just stand there. Come here." He ordered. She felt that there was no choice but to obey.

"I wonder, how is it you've been able to avoid the Ministry's detection so far?"

Her brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"You, a mere muggle, a person with no magic, have been able to see things you **should not **be able to see since you were a young child. The Ministry would have, or should have, noticed you at some point. The Ministry has precautions against these sorts of things you know. Take this place for example, the Leaky Cauldron has charms and spells that keep it from being detected by muggles such as yourself. You should not be able to see it or enter it for that matter. I find it hard to believe that you aren't of some sort of magical descent…"

Arabella struggled to connect all the new learned information together. "Then since **I **am a muggle, a person with no magic, then you are…a person with magic? A…"

"A wizard, yes."

"I realize that you must like making fun of me, Mr. Malfoy, but if you think I'm going to believe something like that then…"

"You said so yourself didn't you? That nobody else seems to see some of the things you see. Why do you think that is? Couldn't magic be a possible reason for this?"

Arabella was stumped. She couldn't deny the possibility that magic exists; after all, she **knew** fairies existed. Tamesis and Linore were living testimonies of that. If fairies and their fairy magic could exist, then couldn't wizards and wizard magic? "Prove it. Prove that you can use magic." She demanded.

Before another word could be spoken, a knock came at the door. "Enter," said Lucius.

The door swung open and in came flying in a tea kettle, tea cups, plates, and a treacle tart. Tom stood at the door way. "Is everything to your liking Mr. Malfoy?"

"This will suffice for now."

Happy that Mr. Malfoy was satisfied, Tom closed the door.

Arabella was stunned. She turned in her seat to look back at the door and turned back to look at the table before her. "How…?"

"Magic." Lucius answered simply.

"And…and you can do this too? Can you show me!?" Arabella asked, suddenly very excited.

Lucius scoffed. "It's illegal to perform magic in front of a muggle under, unless under dire circumstances; however, for you I suppose I could make an exception." Lucius held out his slick cane. The top of which was embellished with the head of a silver snake. He removed the decorative piece to reveal a really smooth black stick.

"Is…is that a wand?"

"Well it certainly isn't a tree branch is it?" Lucius said, before pointing towards a vase of wilting flowers. "I'm only doing this once." With a simple flick of his wrist, the flowers blossomed once more, beautiful and vibrant.

Arabella's face glowed. "Wow! That was wonderful!" She clapped, giving Lucius a small applause. "You know, faeries don't need to use wands to use magic." She said, helping herself to a cup of tea.

"Is that so?"

"Yes," She said excitedly. "At least the two faeries I know don't need to use wands. Wouldn't it be amazing if wizards were somehow descended from faeries, or somehow distantly related?"

"I see nothing pleasant about it. The mere idea of that being true makes me sick to my stomach…" Lucius said.

"But faeries are such wonderful creatures…"

"**Creatures**…" Lucius spat the word, before pouring himself a cup of tea. "Faeries are beneath wizards, Miss Roland. In fact, wizards and witches are the top of the wizarding world, above all other magical creatures."

"Really? Does that mean you know a lot of complex magic?" She asked, her eyes bright with curiosity.

"I can do things you couldn't possibly imagine in your dreams…or your nightmares." Lucius chuckled, a dark glint in his eye. "But enough about me, I still have more questions to ask of you."

Arabella was a bit frightened. "Am…am I in trouble or something? You mentioned before something about the Ministry and how I shouldn't be able to see things…"

"I won't be reporting you the Ministry. If anything they would lock you up and try to decipher how it is you're able to see the things in our world. No…I feel there is much more you can offer."

"Do you mean…do you think I could learn magic too?" She dared to ask.

"I don't know. It doesn't seem very likely, since you never received a letter to attend Hogwarts, am I correct?"

She blinked. "What on bloody Earth is Hogwarts?"

Lucius sighed. "A magic school, where young witches and wizards learn magic. But don't worry, even if you can't use magic, I could find something for you to do in the wizarding world if you'd like. I'm a highly influential figure in the wizarding community and I daresay that every witch and wizard in the community would agree. I'm sure I could work something out that is…if you're interested?" He arched a blond eyebrow.

"Oh…" was all Arabella could manage to say. He had rendered her speechless. "I couldn't possibly…." She said, shaking her head. "Your world is probably wonderful and probably so much better but I couldn't just join it. It just seems too easy…"

"And what makes you think this kind of thing should be difficult? The odds of you meeting an influential wizard such as myself are slim. Don't you think our meeting as fate or perhaps destined?"

Arabella frowned. "I'm…I'm still not sure."

"Then why don't we meet again next week?" He said quickly. "I would hate to see you pass up such an opportunity."

"I'm afraid I can't. I have a party to attend to and I am to play a song for the host, the son of the Spencers. I want to work on the music still…."

"No matter. Take your time and think about my offer."

"But how will I contact you?"

"I'll be contacting you, so there's no need to worry about that." Rising from his chair, he grabbed hold his cane once more. "I think we are finished here for today, Miss Roland. It's been a pleasure."

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Malfoy." She stood quickly, giving a small curtsy.

"Also, before I escort you out, I think it's best that you keep this conversation we just had to yourself. We wouldn't want the Ministry to catch word of your existence, lest you want to find yourself in an unfavorable situation. I may be influential, but once the Ministry has you under custody, there will be very little chance I can get you out."

"Of course Mr. Malfoy."

"Good." He led her down the stairs and back onto Charing Cross Road. She waved him goodbye, her mind whirling with thoughts. Lucius returned the farewell with a curt nod, unable to keep the smirk off his face. He was very pleased with himself. Even though Arabella gave no immediate answer to his offer, he knew that she was as good as his. He laughed silently to himself as he reentered the Leaky Cauldron. This had been easier than performing a levitation charm.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: It has been...soooo long and I sincerely apologize for that. This chapter and the next couple of chapters were/are difficult for me to write. **

**As always, thanks to all who've been reading and reviewing. It really means a lot.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

**In Which She is Swept Away**

Ann was practically pulling Arabella's arm off because she was so excited. The entire day had been spent preparing for tonight. Arabella's friend bought two dresses and spent about two hours debating which to keep and which to return to the store. Afterwards, Ann practically begged Arabella to teach how to waltz, even though Arabella insisted it wasn't really necessary, and let's not even mention applying make-up and dressing up their hair. Arabella felt exhausted, and the party hadn't even started yet.

It always amused Arabella how excited Ann could become for events such as these. Most of the time it seemed like Ann could care less about parties of the "upper class", but that cool façade broke as soon as today came. The shocked look on her Ann's face, once they reached the Spencer's mansion, was more than entertaining. The Spencer's home had two stories, not including the basement beneath the first floor, and a left and right wing. The home was built in the Victorian era and the consistent upkeep of the grounds and home itself kept it looking as grand as it probably did those many years ago. Even Arabella couldn't help but be in awe of the Spencer's home.

"Sweet Jesus Arabella! Look at that!" Ann pointed excitedly. "They got a bloody fountain in front of their house! It's huge! It even got a fancy statue in the middle of it!"

"I can see it Ann. Now stop tugging on me!" Arabella broke away from Ann's tight grip.

Ann rolled her eyes. "Well I'm sorry that I'm not a frequent attender to events like these!"

"It's just a birthday party…"

"Miss Walker," Arabella's father spoke up. He had just gotten back from parking the car. "I'd appreciate it if try your best to contain yourself."

"G-got it Mr. Roland! Thanks so much for letting me come along!"

"I'm not the party host, Miss Walker. Be sure to thank Ethan when we go in." He said, walking ahead of them and towards the house.

"Yes sir!" She said, then turned towards Arabella. "Sweet Jesus, I dunno if I'm more nervous about making a fool of myself or what your father will do if I do make a fool of myself."

Arabella laughed. "Just be yourself…a slightly toned down version of yourself, and you'll be fine."

The two young ladies followed Arabella's father into the home. At the door, they were greeted by doormen, who took their coats and directed them towards the dining room. Ann wore a deep green sweetheart neckline flare dress, while Arabella wore a white embroidered A-line dress.

"I feel so undressed," Ann muttered, checking out what the other guests were wearing.

"You look fine. Trust me, Ethan will probably care less either way." Arabella reassured her. She led Ann to the dining table and sat down beside her father, who was already conversing with a colleague besides him.

The table held about fifty guests in total: relatives of the Spencers, friends of the family and a few personal friends of Ethan himself. The party was an annual affair thrown by his parents and the guest list has changed just about every year. Some people were added. Some people were taken off. Arabella and her father started coming about five years ago, and have also been invited to the occasional Christmas and New Year's party the Spencers threw.

Among all the guests she'd met in here for the past five years, her favorite fellow guest member was Ethan's grandfather from his mother's side, Florian. He was a funny old man, who refused to be called anything but Florian or "sir". During the first party, he had found her by herself on the balcony talking to Linore, who wanted to come along. He didn't think it strange at all and even asked her to him more about Linore. In turn, he also told her stories of his experiences with the…unexplainable or supernatural.

"Arabella, I'm glad to see you've made it safe and sound," The said old man greeted her with a wrinkly smile and sat down across from Ann and Arabella. "I was beginning to get tired of conversing with these coots." He said gesturing to the a couple just a few seats over. "I daresay I can't decide which is more annoying, Mr. Winston rambling on about his son's recent marriage or Mrs. Winston complaining about the lack of décor."

"It's better than having Ms. Deacon critiquing your choice of wardrobe," Arabella pointed, recalling her unfortunate encounter with the old middle-aged widow last year. "Honestly, if I want fashion advice from an overdressed peacock, I'd go to India myself."

He laughed at this. "To right you are." Florian turned to Arabella's friend. "And who might this be? Surely not Linore…"

"No sir, this is Ann Walker. Ann, this is Florian."

"You call me either Florian or 'sir'." He held out his hand for a firm shake.

"Yes sir, how do you do?" Poor Ann responded rather stiffly.

The old man was laughing again. "No need to be so uptight. I know parties like this may be intimidating, but they're really nothing at all. Now the Christmas parties those are a different matter altogether."

"He's right you know," Arabella chimed in. "Anytime they have one, it becomes a sort of contest to see who brings the best gift for the blind gift exchange."

"One year, a guest brought an antique three-piece knife set. My son-in-law, you know Mr. Spencer, always had attraction towards things like that. Of course you could imagine the look on my daughter's face, when it was little Ethan who ended up with the three knives. She nearly blew a gasket and the roof sky high!" Florian began to bark with laughter, only to die down when the chiming of glass brought the entire table to silence.

Mr. Spencer stood wearing a dashing tux. "I'd like to give a toast to my son Ethan. My dear boy, it's been a good two year since you turned seventeen. When on Earth are you moving out?"

This caused ripples of light laughter from the rest of the guests. Ethan, who sat at the head of the table, merely rolled his eyes, but even he couldn't help but crack a smile. "When you've finally learned the difference between a computer and a television set," He responded, causing more laughter.

"I daresay you have done nothing to help me with that." More chuckles and Mr. Spencer waited for silence once more before speaking again. "But with your sharp wit and good marks, I'm proud to say that you've grown into a fine young man and will surely become a proper gentleman when you're older. I daresay where you get these good genes from…"

"It's obvious he gets them from me." Mrs. Spencer spoke up, causing the table to ring with light laughter again.

"To Ethan" Mr. Spencer finished his toast, raising his glass. The rest of the guests followed in suit, and the four course meal began.

The entire room was filled with light conversation. Florian was speaking about a recent supernatural experience he had in India, which Ann held great interest in, while Arabella's eyes scanned the room at the other guests. Some people spoke of relatives, others of recent politics. Some guests ranted on and on recent events of their lives, while other simply smiled and nodded on occasion.

Her eyes caught Ethan's, who smiled at her and gave her small wave. She smiled shyly back and turned to join back in conversation, only pause mid-motion when she spotted a head of blonde hair. To her horror she recognized a man seating but a few seats down on her left. It was Mr. Lucius Malfoy and he was currently engaged in conversation with a middle-aged woman. He seemed to have sense her gaze for he glanced up for a second. His thin lips upturned into a slight grin and he gave a slight nod of the head before returning his attention to the woman babbling beside him.

"Arabella," Ann gave her friend a slight nudge. "What's wrong?" She followed Arabella's sight to Mr. Malfoy. "Woah…never knew that there were still men who grew their hair that long and **not **manage to look like some metal rock lover that lives in his mum's basement. He looks like a bloody aristocrat. Didn't know you were into older men Arabella," She said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Arabella flushed and developed a sudden interest in the food on her plate. "I-I do not. Besides most people at this table are. You know, aristocrats I mean. No that man…" She trailed off, debating on whether or not to tell Ann. "That man…I've met him before, on that day we went shopping for dresses."

"I woulda noticed him if he was there!" Ann said loudly, drawing attention to herself.

"Ann!" Arabella whined, begging her to keep her voice down.

"Sorry…it just I definitely woulda remembered him if I saw him."

"It was after you had to go. We met at Charing Cross Road. I didn't know he knew the Spencers, if I did then…" To be honest, there wasn't really anything for her to have done differently. Did the Spencers know that this man was a wizard? Was it possible that there were more wizard, or even witches, sitting at this table right now?

Her eyes did a quick scan of the table again. Nobody stuck out in particular.

"Bella, are you okay? Did that man…do something to you or…?"

She shook her head. "No…of course not, he was a perfect gentleman…for the most part…"

"Well what the bloody hell does that mean?" Ann asked.

"He did speak to me in a…condescending tone I guess."

"Hmph!" Ann began chewing rather viciously on a piece of meat. "Typical aristocrat, huh. After dinner, Imma give 'im a piece of my mind."

"Ann! Don't do that!" Arabella pleaded.

Florian nodded in agreement. "I think it is best that neither you or Arabella go near that man tonight."

Arabella was surprised. "Do…do you know this man Florian?"

"We've…crossed paths before. Don't pay him much mind though, but since you've met him once already Arabella…" The old man's brows seemed to furrow in thought. "I think it may be best you not stray too far from me tonight…"

Ann's eyes darted back and forth between the two. "Hey…this isn't one of those supernatural things again is it? Already feel left out enough with Arabella alone…"

Florian laughed off the discomforting atmosphere. "Nope, not supernatural in the slightest! But it does remind me of the time my late wife was convinced that she bumped into a vampire in a hotel in Romania. How she did that in broad day light was beyond me! Vampires are very, very sensitive to light you know…"

Arabella tried her best to calmly enjoy the rest of dinner, but know that Mr. Malfoy was sitting on a few seats down was nearly unnerving. She managed to keep her eyes from wondering in his general direction again, only to find herself worrying more. What if he was sneaking glances at **her**? What if she was being extremely rude by avoiding his gaze?

The night dragged on and the party migrated to an open ball room. There was live orchestrated music playing in the background while the guest stood around chatting, sipping their alcoholic beverage of choice. Ethan had found a chance to still a short dance with Arabella, and even Ann found herself dancing a simple waltz.

"It's a lot easier than it looks!" She exclaimed to Arabella after a musical piece ended.

"I told you that you didn't have to worry about that…" Arabella said her voice trailing off. Her wondering eyes had gotten the best of her and she was now staring Mr. Malfoy head on. He began to make his way over to her from the other side of the room. "…oh no…"

Ann noticed the man heading their way. "You want me to get him to back off?"

"No…I'll...I'll just go off to the bathroom or something."

"He's going to corner the moment you get out!" Ann whispered quickly, since Mr. Malfoywas making decent ground now. "You just have to be straight forward and tell him you don't want to talk to him…"

"In the middle of a party!?" Arabella whispered back in shock.

"No…in the middle of the moon. Of course here! It's now or never!"

Arabella was beginning to shake out of nervousness when Mr. Spencer swooped in to the rescue…or so Arabella thought. "Arabella darling, enjoying the party are we?"

She took a breath of relief. "Yes, Mr. Spencer."

"I was thinking you can play your little song for Ethan in a few minutes. I was just talking to your father about it. He's says you've been practicing very hard." He said with a jolly grin on his face.

"Yes, of course. I'm very excited for everyone to hear it."

"Splendid, splendid…ah! Lucius!There you are! Enjoy the party are we?"

"Why yes. There are quite a number of…_interesting _guests, including this one here." said Mr. Malfoy, indicating to Arabella. She wished more than anything than to shrink into the ground at that very moment.

"Oh this young lady here is Miss Arabella Roland!" Mr. Spencer gestured to her. "And Miss Arabella, this is Mr. Malfoy."

She dipped into a small curtsy and shivered at the small smirk upturning the corners of Mr. Malfoy's lips.

"A pleasure…I couldn't help but over hear that you are gifted in music?"

Arabella forced a smile. "Yes I am."

"I'm a lover of the arts myself, perhaps we could further talk about it. I know a few people who may be interested in having you play for them…"

"But you haven't even heard me play yet." Arabella pointed out, but Mr. Spencer cut in. "Talk to the poor man Arabella! This will be a good opportunity for you! You there!" He pointed at Ann. "You are Arabella's friend yes?"

Ann nodded. "Yes, yes I am..."

"My wife has been meaning to talk to you. Why don't we go find her so Mr. Malfoy can talk to Arabella without any distractions."

Ann stomped her foot down. "I am not a distraction and Arabella doesn't want to talk to Mr. Malfoy."

Mr. Spencer couldn't comprehend what Ann just told him. "What? I see no reason why not...?" He looked pointedly at Arabella for an explanation.

"Well…it's just that I just met him so I'm a bit uncomfortable speaking to him on my own…"

"Oh don't be ridiculous Arabella. I'm sure Mr. Malfoy understands that you might be a little…"

"She says she doesn't want to talk to him, so she doesn't want to talk to him!" Ann shouted, loud enough to make the small orchestra stop playing and for all heads to turn towards them.

Arabella was mortified and ran. The rest of the guests watched her go, murmuring amongst themselves as they did.

It wasn't until she reached an empty hall did Arabella stopped running. Immediately, she began to feel the guilt. She shouldn't have run from Ann like that. Ann was only trying to help her…but it was so embarrassing. It was so rude…but she was only trying to help…

She took a few calm breathers, before recomposing herself. Now she had to face the humility of returning to the party. Ann was going to be so angry with her…

"Miss Roland, I'm glad to see that you're alright."

Arabella nearly jumped out of her shoes at the sound of Mr. Malfoy's silky voice. "Oh yes…I'm fine. Perfectly fine. Just g-got a bit overwhelmed for a moment. I…" she began to stutter like crazy, not really sure what to say. All she could think of was Florian's warning to keep away from Mr. Malfoy tonight.

"You know," He began, idly examining the cane he held. "I could have sworn that last week you seemed more than willing to meet and speak with me. Why the sudden change of heart?"

"It's just…well…I wasn't really expecting to see you here tonight. I mean, pardon me for asking, but how is it that you know the Spencers? I thought you were a wiz…"

"I am, and I have my ways, Miss Roland. I guess you could say I have many tricks up my sleeve," He came in close, an arm snaked around her shoulders. "Why don't I show you a few?"

Arabella's stomach dropped. "I really think I should be going back to the party…"

"No, Miss Roland. You won't be going anywhere." He whispered into her ear. There was a loud _crack_ and the two disappeared from the hall.


	10. Chapter 10

******A/N: I just want to quickly thank everyone reading this story so far. I've finally made it to chapter 10, but I still got quite a ways to go. ;)**

**Reviews would be great. I'd really love to know what you think~**

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><p><strong>Chapter Ten<strong>

**In Which She Becomes a Prisoner**

"Ugh…" Arabella groaned and tried to sit up. Her muscles ached and her head pulsated. She looked around the room, shivering slightly. The room was lavishly decored. Dark drapes decorated the windows and a few paintings hung here and there. She herself sat upon a soft, queen-sized bed with velvet green covers. Arabella racked her brains, but for the life of her couldn't recognize where she was.

What on Earth happened to her? There was a party…the Spencers! Was this one of their rooms!? Did she faint or something?

Her body sore, she struggled to get off the bed and make it to the door. She turned the decorative handle.

Locked.

A feeling of dread swelled in her stomach. If she was at the Spencers…the door shouldn't be locked. There was no reason to do so. That's when she remembered seeing an unexpected guest at the party: Mr. Lucius Malfoy.

Her fingers racked her hair back as she slid to the cool floor below. Mr. Malfoy was there and he…he did something to her. He took her away like magic…actually he did use magic. He must have, but why would he do that? Sure he was…rough around the ages, but for the most part she took him to be gentlemanly…

She did everything in her power to stay calm, but what could she do to get out of here? There was no other exit. She went around her room feeling walls, hoping for a hidden exit, like the ones you see in the movies. Arabella should have known better; she couldn't find one. She really was trapped.

What she needed was magic to fight with magic. What she needed was Tamesis and Linore. She wasn't sure how much magic they had, but she knew Linore would be able to unlock the door, and that would be a start at least. The only thing was, she didn't know where they were and she had no way to contact them.

Arabella was very close near to crying, until she heard voices on the other side of the door.

"I don't want a **muggle **of all things sleeping in one of our guest rooms!" A woman harshly whispered.

"I want her to be comfortable, to let down her guard. She'll be much more useful to us that way," came the cool voice of Mr. Malfoy.

"And what use would she be to us?" She snapped back.

"I already told you. She can see our world, even though she possesses no magic of her own. Anybody who is anybody wouldn't know her. She'd be most beneficial in spying for the Dark Lord, don't you think?"

The woman seemed to think over Mr. Malfoy's line of thinking before responding. "I don't know. I don't like it."

"Just think how he would award us for finding something so useful? We could even get more information out of her about the Order than Snape is allowed to tell us…"

The talking stopped and on instinct Arabella flew back to the bed to "sleep".

As if on cue, the door opened. Her heart jumped at every footstep that clicked along the hardwood floor. The person stopped right beside the bed and Arabella was positive that it was Mr. Malfoy.

"I know you're awake."

Arabella remained unmoving, trying to keep her breathing as steady as possible. Mr. Malfoy, on the other hand, was in no mood to play games. She could feel his weight settle beside her and a hand slid up to her shoulder. He whispered in her ear, "I said, wake up."

An involuntary shiver shot down her spine. Slowly she rose from the pillows. "What do you want from me?" She dared to ask.

"I never said I wanted anything from you."

"Then how come I'm not at the party anymore? Where am I? Why am I here? And who were you talking to outside the door?" The stream of questions flooded from her mouth without a filter.

Mr. Malfoy raised a light eyebrow. "So you were listening. I thought as much..." he said while Arabella blanched. "What does it matter to whom I was speaking to outside the door? Are you, in fact, jealous?"

"Of course not! And you didn't answer my other questions!"

"If you start acting up, you will be punished for it. I swear it." Mr. Malfoy spat, before answering her previous questions cooly. "You're in a room in my manor, a "special" guest if you will. You should be grateful that I gave you such a nice room for your stay."

"You…you kidnapped me…" She pointed out weakly.

"I don't think of it as kidnapping. I'm on a bit of a time constraint. My employer is in need of something and you might be able to help him find it."

"Then you **ask** me. Don't just sweep me away off my feet!"

"Then I humbly apologize for upsetting you so. I've always had a liking for the dramatics." Mr. Malfoy apologized, not sounding very apologetic at all. "However, I truly believe it is of upmost importance that I brought you here as soon as possible. My employer…he is a patient man, but would rather not have to wait for what he wants, if you understand my meaning." He said, his blue gray eyes piercing directly into hers.

Arabella, suddenly flustered, darted her eyes away. "Well…what does he want?"

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to say. When you meet him, and if he thinks you are useful, then you will be informed. Until then…"

She stood abruptly. "I will not have you push me around like some brainless mannequin any longer, Mr. Malfoy. I don't understand why it's so difficult for you to answer the question."

Mr. Malfoy also stood to his feet, easily towering over Arabella. "Need I remind you where you are? You are in **my **home and this house is undetectable to every muggle who tries to locate it. You are in the wizarding world, when you do not belong here and if the ministry were to catch wind of your existence…"

"Are you threatening me?"

He seemed to have forgotten his self-control, but was quickly able to gather himself. "I don't like to see this as 'threatening'. I merely am reminding you. It's for your own safety after all."

Arabella began shaking her head. "I don't want to be here. I want to go home. I have to go apologize to Ann for that night at the party."

"You don't mean that." He said, with an alarming smirk. "Haven't you always wondered, or wished, you could be taken away from the muggle world to a world of magic? To a world of superior being? Don't tell me you never thought of it, when you've seen all the wonders you've seen, like the magic of fairies. Even few wizards can say they've seen something like that."

Mr. Malfoy's smirk felt as though it couldn't possibly grow any wider, but the feeling of triumph in his chest was beginning to swell. He had rendered the young lady silent. She was thinking; he could practically hear the gears in her head whirl as she took what he just said into consideration.

"Besides, I don't see why you should worry about apologizing to that girl." He added. "She made you look like a fool didn't she? Lower class people, like her, don't even understand the simple matters of…"

"There's nothing wrong with her!" Arabella stepped up to her friend's defense.

"You…you are so much more than she is and any other muggle out there. You are different and that is why you are here." Mr. Malfoy said calmly in response to Arabella's outburst. He became dangerously close to her as he said this: the backs of his finger ever so slowly stroking her cheeks, his lips a mere inches from the top of her head. "A beauty," he murmured, before drawing back. "I suggest that here on out that you stay as quite as possible. Other people live in this house as well and if they find out you're here…well, let's just say they won't exactly welcome you with open arms."

"Can't…can't I just see your employer now?"

"He's a busy man that will not be pleased than something less than perfect. When I present you, I want everything to go as smoothly as possible, don't you agree?"

Arabella found herself nodding yes.

He eyed her closely before saying, "Good. I'll be sending a meal shortly. The servant will appear instantly in the room, so please try not to shout or scream." With that he strode out of the room, leaving her alone once more.

There was a faint click.

He'd locked the door again.

Arabella didn't know whether to count herself lucky or not. On one hand she was alive and Mr. Malfoy had done nothing to harm her…yet. On the other hand, she was trapped in a room in a manor in an unknown location and had to meet Mr. Malfoy's employer, whenever that would be. It was a meeting she didn't look forward to in the slightest, especially if the employer was anything like Mr. Malfoy and very hard to please.

With nothing left to do, her eyes drifted around the room. Their sight caught onto the bookshelf.

As if in a trance Arabella walked over to the tall shelf. Her fingers grazed lightly above one of the books spinning, before removing it. The title read: The Pure and Noble Bloodlines of the Wizarding World. Without hesitation she opened the book and was amazed.

The pictures were moving all on their own.

They looked left and right, and seemed to be speaking silently to each other. They took notice of Arabella and their expressions immediately turned to ones of scorn. Some made rude hand gestures at her, while other spat at her. A bit taken aback, Arabella hastily flipped through the pages of the book. The trees of pureblood families were quite extensive, many of them marrying cousins and close relatives, all to keep their blood "pure". That's when Arabella realized that the people in the pictures must have somehow known that she was no pureblood witch; she wasn't a witch at all.

She was a non-magical person, plain, boring and on the bottom of their social pyramid.

Arabella was about to close the book, when her eyes caught on a family name: the Black Family. She couldn't believe it. It felt like this name was popping up everywhere. She traced the family tree down and low and behold she found his name: Sirius Black.

He looked very young in this picture and about ten times more cheerful than the rest of his family. While a vast majority of his relatives snubbed her all together, his small picture was the only one that smiled and waved at her. He looked nothing like the wanted posters from a couple years ago that she vaguely remembered.

Although his lips were moving, she couldn't hear what he was saying.

But his "presence" brought her great comfort.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Well, I hope all the Americans up in here enjoyed their Thanksgiving. **

**As usual, I'd like to thank everyone reading this story so far and to all who've written reviews. It's much appreciated. **

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><p><strong>Chapter Eleven<strong>

**In Which She Catches Glimpse of a Fantasy**

Arabella had fallen asleep on the floor and awoke to a most uncomfortable position. In her lap, she still had the book open to Sirius Black's page. She gazed down at him now; he seemed to be pointing at something. She looked to her left to see that a meal had been left on the small round table near the door. After hesitantly folding down the page she was on, Arabella closed the book to eat, but spotted the Malfoy name on the Black page. One of Sirius' cousins was married to a man named Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy.

It shocked her that they were related, by marriage at least.

Sirius seemed to notice her staring at the small Lucius Malfoy picture and started throw punches and kicks, as though they would somehow reach the aristocratic man. Arabella couldn't help but giggle at the attempts; she really liked Sirius.

The meal on the other hand was nowhere near as likeable, which was to be expected: water, half an apple and a small loaf of bread. She was thankful that Mr. Malfoy was even feeding her at all; of course she'd be more thankful if he ceased this nonsense and simply let her go. She had no magic, no special powers. Was she not completely useless in his world of magic?

Sighing she moseyed over to the window and drew back the curtain. Night had fallen already. The moon's light was dim, but bright enough to light up the grounds of Malfoy Manor. There was a lavish garden, a pond and a fountain. She couldn't help but wonder how beautiful it probably looks beneath the sun.

Birds would probably be chirping merrily, while the bees buzzed about the roses, tulips, and daffodils. Of course, this was no ordinary garden, but a magical garden. So when the leaves blew through the garden's trees, one could hear them whispering and hidden in the flower beds there would small sprites giggling. Maybe even a few fairies would be out and about if she were lucky.

At the pond a small turtle would make his way slowly into the water and glide about with the fish. The fish themselves would be silver, no gold, and their scales would reflect the sunlight. They'd be darting this way and that way beneath the water's surface. Arabella would laugh, for some lovely reason, and try to catch a few of the smaller fish in her hands; then she'd show it to Sirius. He'd laugh and say that he could do better. With a wave of his wand he'd enchant the water with a couple of fish and have it stream throughout the air before returning the fish back into the pond. She would giggle again like a foolish school girl and give him a small applause. He'd then take her hand, so that they could go for a small walk about the garden.

The two would then talk about a variety of things. Perhaps she could share with him things about her world and he could do the same with his. They would both insist that the other's world was ten times better only to laugh about how silly they were being. Then Sirius would notice a stray leaf in her hair. He'd ask her to hold on a moment as he took it out.

The soft touch of his fingers would send bolts of electricity down her spine and throughout her body.

"_There,"_ he'd say, flinging the leaf away, but he wouldn't move away. In fact he'd draw her closer until his lips finally touched…

The fantasy stopped abruptly with the sound of loud footsteps coming from the hall. Arabella's head snapped to the door. Beneath the door's crack there was a dim light, before it disappeared again, the footsteps fading away also. She quickly went to the safety of The Pure and Noble Bloodlines of the Wizarding World, more specifically to Sirius Black's page.

He seemed to notice her worry.

"Sirius…Sirius help me." She whispered, feeling rather ridiculous speaking to a small picture, but if she was in a world of magic, then anything could be possible.

Sirius nodded, and Arabella let out a sigh of relief. He understood her.

"I need to get out of here. I need help. Could you possibly help me?"

Sirius pointed towards the door again, and began motioning her to leave.

Arabella shook her head in dismay. "The door is locked I can't open it."

For a moment, Sirius seemed stumped, before an idea dawned on him. He started making a series of hand motions…something long…pick the door. Pick the door!?

"How can I do that? Mr. Malfoy locked it with **magic**!" Arabella asked, but Sirius merely repeated the hand motions again. Sighing, she realized she didn't really have much of a choice. She had to at least give his idea a try. All she need was something to pick the lock with.

She began to upturn the room inside and out in search of a good tool. As she feared, she found nothing suitable. Scratching her head with thought, her nails caught onto something peculiar: a bobby pin. Of course! Hopefully, this would be as easy as actors made it seem in Hollywood. Arabella got to her knees and peered through the keyhole. She couldn't see much; it was a dark after all, but she was too afraid to turn on the light. If she recalled correctly, Mr. Malfoy had said that there were other people staying at the house. If that person who was in the hallway was **not **Mr. Malfoy and noticed the light coming from her door…a shiver trembled throughout her body…she feared what would happen then.

Perhaps about five minutes later, though it felt like much more, Arabella had made no progress at all. On top of that, her fingers were starting to get sweaty. She was so anxious to get out of this place! Much to her dismay, the bobby pin clattered to the floor, sliding beneath the door and into the hallway on the other side.

Inwardly she cringed. She had to get it back.

Taking a deep breath of courage, she stuck her hand beneath the door to begin feeling for the blasted pin. With each second that passed her heart seemed to pound harder and louder. The tips of her fingers just barely reached the pin.

_Just a bit farther_, she told herself, pressing her face against the door.

It wasn't more than a millisecond later when somebody stepped on her fingers. It was as though she was struck by a sudden jolt of electricity.

She let out a shriek and somehow managed to withdraw her hand.

A dark laugh could be heard from the other side of the door. "I thought could smell something…sweet behind this door. I wonder, what could Lucius be keeping in here?" The person on the other side mused. "I can smell you, ya know. Such a sweet little miss you are…not yet a woman…my _favorite_…"

By this time Arabella retreated to a far back corner in the room, as far away from the door as possible. She prayed to whatever Gods there were that this man did not know magic as well.

To her great misfortune he did.

There was a small light shining through the keyhole, followed closely by the click of the lock. In the dark and with the moonlight from the window, she could see a large shadowy figure in the door way.

"You look even tastier than you smell," the man chuckled. "C'me 'ere little pet. Not gonna hurt ya yet. No fun in that is there?" He kneeled and beckoned to her like she was some sort of dog.

All Arabella could do was shake her head furiously back and forth.

"Why not, little princess?" He asked, a sense of humor gone from his voice. "Am I not good enough for you? You prefer men like Malfoy?" He spat and began to creep closer.

"Go away!" She shrieked, reaching for books from the bookshelf and throwing them at him. "Get away from me! Leave me alone, please!"

"Shut up!" He growled, and with a flick of his wand Arabella was rendered silent. She tried shouting and screaming, but found she had no voice. Instead she resorted to throwing more books at him, which he reflected with ease across the room. She was very close to tears now as she mouthed the words, "Please, please, please", over and over again.

The man was laughing again. "_Please, please_." He mimicked darkly. "Wish I didn't have to silence ya. Woulda loved to hear ya beg." A shiver shot down his spine at the thought.

He was now so very close to her. His hands on either side of her cowering form. Arabella curled up in the corner, trying to stay as far away from him as possible.

There was no escaping him now.

The man relished the fear emitting from her body and was so very tempted to bite her then and there, but what fun would that be? No…there was so much more they could do, starting with the tears running down her cheeks. A long tongue stuck out to lick them away. "Gods, you taste so sweet…you're not gonna run are ya? You run Imma kill you here and now."

Arabella began shaking her head again.

He planted a warm slimy kiss on her cheek. "That's a good pet," He murmured, petting her atop her head. "Now let's get you out of these clothes shall we?"

Her head snapped at this, her eyes wide with fear.

He absolutely loved it.

"Greyback."

Both the man and Arabella looked towards the door. A new person stood there now, much to her dismay the voice sounded nothing like Mr. Malfoy's.

"Snape." Greyback growled with anger.

"I doubt Lucius would take kindly to you wondering about his manor at night or snooping into his rooms," the man named Snape said, seemingly unaffected by the animosity in Greyback's voice.

"I was on my way back from the loo and what do I see sticking out from beneath a door? A hand. So I decided to check it out." Greyback explained himself. "Looks to me Malfoy's been housing up a little bitch."

Arabella flinched at the word.

Snape entered the room, wand raised. "I'll say this only once: I highly suggest you leave."

"Or what? This ain't your house ya know…"

"And what do you think Lucius will do when he finds out what you've done here? He's already covered for two of you recent screw ups, if I recall correctly. Not to mention **I've **covered for you once as well."

Greyback's face pulled into an ugly scowl, then barked, "Fine."

He shoved Arabella back into the corner, her head snapping back against the wall. He didn't hesitate to glare Snape down as he pushed past him. Once he was gone, Snape closed the door and waited a few moments.

Arabella remained in her corner. "W-who are you?" She croaked.

The man came closer, peering down at her small self. "Miss Roland…?"

She shrank even smaller, if possible. "How do you know my name?"

Snape didn't answer her. "Miss Roland, I suggest that from here on out you stay as quiet as possible and stay away from the windows and doors. We wouldn't want another event like tonight to repeat itself would we?"

She shook her head.

He gave her another look up and down, before striding away back into the hall. The door closed shut, and, with another flash of light, the door was locked once more.

It took Arabella several moments for her to gather herself again. The man named Greyback terrified her and the man named Snape frightened her, although he did come to her rescue. It only begged her to wonder what other "guests" Mr. Malfoy had in his house, but a part of her really didn't want to find out.

Standing to her feet, she made her way to The Pure and Noble Bloodlines of the Wizarding World once more. It was still laid out open, unperturbed by the incident that had just previously taken place. Sirius was looking up at her. He seemed worried.

"I wish you were here with me." She began to sob. "I wish you were here with me Sirius…"

That night she cried herself to sleep. She dreamt of gardens, fairies, magic, and of Sirius Black.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: FINALLY~! Finally~! Finally~! Finally~!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Twelve<strong>

**In Which She Fell**

That night was probably the worst night she'd ever slept through for fear had a constant hold on her heart. She'd sleep for about an hour or so before she woke up again to a small creak in the house or a whisper of the wind. By the next morning, she was more than simply tired, she was exhausted from anticipation. When would she meet Mr. Malfoy's employer?

As she stood up to stretch, The Pure and Noble Bloodlines of the Wizarding World fell from her lap and directly onto her toe. She held a shout in her throat, while tears pricked her eyes.

"Ahhh…" She groaned, crumpling to the ground.

A click could be heard and, through her tears, she saw Mr. Malfoy enter the room, hastily re-locking the door behind him. He did a double take. "What on Earth are you doing?"

"I…the book…on my…"

"Stop your sputtering. I don't want to hear it." He interrupted, tossing a few bags upon the empty bed. "Go through those."

"What are they?"

"Why don't you find out?" He said as he made himself comfortable in one of the chairs.

Arabella shot him some shifty looks as she made her way over to the bed. Within the bags were several pieces of cloth, no robes. There were many colors, different styles. "What are these?"

"Tonight I'll present you to the Dark Lord. You might as well look decent." He explained. "You haven't eaten yet I see." He pointed over to the new tray of food: a cup of water, an apple slice, and another slice of bread.

"What…what time is it?"

"It's already afternoon." Mr. Malfoy informed her, drawing back her curtains. Sure enough, the sun was shining brightly outside the window. "Have you picked one?"

"N-no I haven't."

"I suggest the dark green one…the blue one will suit you as well. I'm not sure what that silver one is doing there. It may prove to be too bold…"

"Oh…well…I'll take the green one I guess."

"Get dressed."

Arabella's cheeks flushed red. "Excuse me?"

"Get dressed. Let me see you in it." He noticed her eyes dart left and right. "Just change here. There's nothing to be bashful about."

"Th-there's everything to be bashful about!" She protested boldly.

Mr. Malfoy wasn't pleased. "Hurry it up. I don't have all day." He crossed his legs and fingers in wait, a blond brow delicately arched.

He watched her as she turned around, a furious blush dusting her cheeks, and began to undress. Delicate fingers slowly removed the straps. The crinkled white dress fell to the ground. Mr. Malfoy couldn't help but note how her lacy pink underwear complimented her skin nicely. Much to his dismay, he couldn't enjoy the view much longer. As soon as her dress was off, the dark green robes were on, concealing the young woman's delicate body.

"Turn around."

"B-but I haven't finished…the lacing…" She started to stutter.

Mr. Malfoy didn't allow her to finish, and instead took it upon himself to get up to turn her around himself. She avoided his eye contact as he peered down at her. The lacing in the front still had to be done up, her pink laced bra peeking through. He took the two ends of ribbon and began to tie her up. His fingers just barely brushed over her breasts.

She was holding her breath.

He chuckled darkly at the fact.

Once he finished, Arabella made way to pull back, but Mr. Malfoy was sure to keep her in place. "This…this is good…" He was momentarily lost for words. She was very lovely. Wizarding clothes suited her. However, her innocent beauty reminded him of a pressing concern. "You know Miss Roland, I was informed of something rather odd this morning…"

"Odd?"

"Yes. I was informed by one of my…comrades…that there was an intruder here last night…"

Arabella paled.

"How, pray tell, did he even know that you were in this room in the first place?" Mr. Malfoy asked.

"I…I don't…"

A hand shot up and grasped her firmly by the cheeks. "Do not lie to me." Mr. Malfoy hissed, holding up a small bobby pin in his free hand. "I found this outside your door. This belongs to you does it not? Tell me, how on Earth did this get into the hallway in the first place?"

"I…dropped it. So I tried to reach under the door to get it back and that man…"

"Tell me… do you have any idea who that man was?"

She managed to shake her head "no".

"That man was Fenrir Greyback, a notorious werewolf. You probably don't even realize just how much danger you were in. He didn't bite you, did he?"

"I…what…no…no he didn't."

"No one's really sure what happens if you're bitten by a werewolf when he's not turned." He said, examining her neck rather closely. "You're very lucky indeed, but someone else had managed to find you as well, Severus Snape." Mr. Malfoy spat the name.

"He made the other man go away…"

"It doesn't matter what he did. The fact remains that he also knows of your existence now. Greyback will keep his mouth shut about you, but Snape…"

"Does it really matter whether he tells your employer or not?" Arabella foolishly asked.

Mr. Malfoy glared her down. "Timing is everything. Keeping you a secret for as long as possible ensures your survival up until the point I present you."

"And what happens when you present me?"

"That's for my employer to decide. I can't deny that your chances don't look very good. You have no magical capabilities whatsoever. You're no better than a squib at most, but because you aren't a squib, means that you're not on any of the ministry's records and therein lies your trump card. Of course, pretty robes and a pretty face won't hurt your chances either." He added with a soft whisper

She managed to retain a shiver. "So…what happens if he likes me?"

"Then you'll be placed under my command."

"And if he doesn't like me?" She dared ask.

He was quite for a moment, as if a bit unsure, but answered her regardless. "In the worst case scenario, he'll kill you."

She couldn't help but gasp. "What is it that you people do exactly?"

"We…are going to put muggles and mudbloods in their proper place." Mr. Malfoy stood tall and strode over to the door. "Hurry up and eat. I'll be back for you in the evening. Stay away from the doors and windows and, for goodness sake, stay quiet." He ordered, his hand on door knob.

Arabella saw it, a window, or rather door, of opportunity. As of now, the door was unlocked. Once Mr. Malfoy exited the room, he would lock it again. It wouldn't be opened again until later this evening, leaving Arabella two chances to make an escape.

If Mr. Malfoy was to return this evening, there could be more people in the manor by then for the meeting with his employer. Of course, she didn't know how many people were present at the manor **now**, but the thought of running around the manor at night frightened her. It was now or never.

She picked up the heavy copy of The Pure and Noble Bloodlines of the Wizarding World and approached Mr. Malfoy from behind as quickly and quietly as possible. Her heart was practically drumming at her eardrums. Arabella drew back and the thick made contact with Mr. Malfoy's head as hard as possibly could.

Mr. Malfoy let out a strangled cry, falling into the door. He made way to turn around, but Arabella had hit again and again until he slumped into a boneless mess.

Arabella was in full panic mode now. She'd just attacked a person! Was he…dead? She dared to kneel beside him and check.

No…still breathing. She simply had knocked him out.

"_In and out. In and out. I must stay calm_" She told herself. First thing first, she had to take Mr. Malfoy's wand. She took the snake head and detached it from the rest of the cane. Arabella debated on whether or not she should tie him up as well for good measure, but decided it best not to. He could wake up any second, or someone could have heard her. No, she needed to get out of the manor, and then plan on what to do from there.

She entered the hallway; her only weapons were a thick book and a useless wand.

Mr. Malfoy said it was mid-afternoon, but the halls were dark and daunting. The walls were a dark green and upon them hung tapestries, portraits and other homely decorations. All of them seemed…alive somehow, since they were moving and all. Arabella wanted nothing more than to sprint down the halls to find the exit, but knew better. If she bumped into someone in her rush, like the werewolf from last night, she wasn't sure what she would be able to do.

Once she'd made it to the stairs, she felt somewhat relieved. At the bottom of the stairs should be the first floor. She simply had to make it to the back door and escape through the back gate and she should be home free.

She approached the stairs with caution, careful to not make the creak. It wasn't until she reached the bottom that she heard voices. She glanced down the hallway, but no one was there. The two people must have been in the sitting room nearby, the door was open.

"How much longer will be Lucius?" A man asked. His voice sounded rather familiar.

"I don't know." A woman answered, her voice rather bitter.

"He is with the girl." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

The woman made a noise of discontent. "You know?"

"Yes, I discovered her last night actually, when Greyback broke entry into her room."

"You should have let Greyback have her."

"No need to be jealous of a filthy muggle."

The woman was now sputtering gasps of disbelief. "What? I…well…I never…"

Arabella had enough of listening in. It didn't seem like they'd be talking for a while. She'd have to go down the left to see if there was an exit that way.

The first floor was brighter than the second floor had been. The décor was still dark, but there were large windows allowing the sun's light to fill the dreary home. She pressed her face against the window pane, glancing left and right for a possible exit. To her great relief, there was a patio only about thirty feet down.

She couldn't keep from smiling and began sprinting down the hall. She was so close…only a few more…

A door creaked open.

Arabella was forced to skid to a stop.

There was a boy with blond hair, an angular face, a pointed chin. He bore an uncanny resemblance to Mr. Malfoy. The boy seemed un-startled by her presence. "Who are you?" He demanded.

"I…was just visiting…and now I'm taking my leave. Excuse me." She made way to walk around him, but he stopped her again. "And just who exactly did you visit?"

"Mr…Mr. Malfoy."

The boy smirked. "My father doesn't have any visitors today. The only one who's come to visit is Professor Snape, and he's speaking to my mother right now." He took a few steps towards her, and she took a few steps back. "I've never seen you before. Who are you?"

Panicked Arabella fell to instinct and ran, but the boy was quick and had pulled out his wand. "STUPEFY!"

A light shot past her and hit a vase shattering it.

"Draco!?" A woman's voice shouted.

Arabella had to get out **now**. She slid to a stop in front of the patio door. The boy was still in pursuit and behind him there was another man. It was the man that had saved her last night. Without thinking, she hurled the book she held at the boy. It managed to get him the face.

Silently cheering, but not for long, she ran through the door.

Behind her she could hear the man tell the boy, to go get his father.

Did he mean Mr. Malfoy?

It didn't matter.

Arabella ran through the patio, slightly out of breath. She cursed herself for being so unfit.

A hand grabbed her shoulder just as she was about to enter the garden. She began to scream.

"Silence," came a cold voice. She was whipped around to face the man…Snape. "Beyond the garden there's the back gate. That's the way this and whatever you do, don't let go of it." He handed her an empty glass bottle from his cloak.

"I…what…?"

"If you want to get out of here, you'll do as I say. I didn't expect this to happen and the portkey won't work until thirty minutes from now. Just get as far from here as possible, and I'll distract the Malfoys."

"I…"

"Just get out of my sight."

She didn't need to be told twice. Arabella dashed into the garden and towards the gate in the back. She wasn't sure how an empty bottle would help her, but if the man said it would, she'd keep it.

As she unlatched the gate, she heard a voice. _"Arabella…Arabella…"_

Despite her better judgment, she waited to hear it again. Sure enough there it was; a whisper almost lighter than the wind. "_Arabella…Arabella…"_

It was coming from the pond. One side of her told her to run, but another side urged her towards the pond and the light whispers. "T-Tamesis?" She wondered as she walked to the pond's edge.

"_Arabella…Arabella…"_

"STUPEFY!"

The loud shout shook Arabella from her daze. She felt some sort of force hit her and knock her back. Her body was immobilized, but she could see Mr. Malfoy standing at one end of the garden.

"_Arabella…Arabella…"_

It was Tamesis' voice. She was sure of it. _"Tamesis…help me," _she thought desperately, as the pond's water surrounded her entirely.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Funny story...this chapter was written weeks...possibly even MONTHS ago...but because I added Mr. Malfoy into this story and I had to change a lot of things. (^_^)"**

**Side note, I really should be studying for my oral exam tomorrow...and yet I did this. *sigh* Not gonna lie...this chapter is kinda...weird...but work with me here. (3 )**

**As always, thanks to all who've reviewed, subscribed, favorited, etc. etc...ya'll be the coolest~**

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><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen<strong>

**In Which She Meets a Queen**

Arabella felt warm all over and very much safe. In her mind all she could think of was that mysterious man Sirius Black. He was the person holding her close, providing the warmth. Just thinking of him sent butterflies to her stomach.

"_Arabella…"_

She even loved the way he'd whisper her name in her ear.

"Sirius…"

"Ah! She finally moved! Arabella! Arabella!" A female voice called to her.

"You shouldn't wake her up. Let her sleep…" chided another female voice.

Arabella opened her eyes, only to shut them again. It was so bright. "Oof…" Somebody hugged her tightly.

"Arabella! I'm so glad you're alright!" It was Linore…but she wasn't as small as Arabella's hand anymore. Now she was the size of a human.

Arabella wasn't sure if she was seeing this right or if she was still sleeping. "Linore…what happened? How are you…?"

"Tamesis and I rescued you! We brought you home!"

"Home?" Arabella looked around. This most certainly didn't look like her home, the walls and floors were made of wood, as was most of the furniture. Everything about the room had a natural warm feeling to it.

"Yes, we brought you to Avalon!"

"Avalon?"

Linore nodded. "Avalon is where Tamesis and I are from. Look out the window."

Arabella peered outside through the small window and was amazed at what she saw. All the buildings were built into trees, which towered much higher than any skyscraper she'd ever seen. The sun's rays showered down through the canopy above and just about everywhere fairies were flying anywhere they pleased. "B-But how..?"

"It took a lot of energy to get you here. I thought Tamesis was going to die…"

"What!?" Arabella shouted, very alarmed. "Where is he? Is he alright?"

Linore smiled. "No worries! He woke up a month ago so…"

"A month ago! How long have I been asleep?"

The fairy shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe around five months? It's only natural because you're human. You're not used to being in the fairy world…some humans take years to wake up and some don't wake up at all."

"T-then…why did you guys bring me here?" Arabella asked. It felt as though her eyes were going to bug out of her head.

Linore frowned, seeing how freaked out Arabella was. "It was the safest place we could think of; after all, you nearly fell into the hands of You-Know-Who…"

"And who is that?" Arabella closed her eyes trying to remember what had happened to her before she had fallen asleep. She could a garden…a large manor…and Mr. Malfoy…and the man that let her get away. But who was You-Know-Who?

"You-Know-Who was known for overtaking the Ministry of Magic years ago and for threatening the existence of normal humans like you. He was said to have been defeated years ago, but he's risen again. He's a threat to the magical world. Many have died when he was in power and many will probably die again…" Linore explained.

"But I was at Mr. Malfoy's…"

A light bulb went off.

Mr. Malfoy's employer must have been this "You-Know-Who". It made sense; their ideologies seemed to match after all. Even so Arabella almost couldn't believe it. She knew she had been in danger during that time, but was she really in **that **much danger. A man who had killed millions...?

"If he's so dangerous to people like me, then why haven't we heard about him?"

Linore could only shrug. "It's the law I guess. The magical world and the non-magical world are supposed to be separate. Besides, I think it would cause a lot of humans to panic, don't you?"

Arabella wasn't sure what she thought of it, and yet found herself nodding. "_Could one man really hold that much power?_" She couldn't help but wonder. She shook her head. Of course there was…Hitler was almost a perfect parallel. In retrospect, it was a miracle that she even escaped… "Where is Tamesis now?"

"Ah…you're up Arabella."

A deep voice announced Tamesis' arrival. Arabella felt her jaw slightly open in shock. Tamesis was huge! Maybe about 6 foot 2. "Tamesis!"

He grinned. "I'm sure you're surprised to see us like this Arabella…"

"Tamesis, Linore told me that you've been unconscious until about a month ago…"

He held up his hand. "You don't need to apologize Arabella. Linore and I were protecting you, just like you protected us that day four years ago."

"I told her about You-Know-Who Tamesis."

He nodded with approval. "Good, that saves me having to explain. I've been running around all month trying to get permission for you to live here Arabella."

"Live here?" Arabella frowned. "Tamesis…no…I…I can't live here. I have to go home! What about father and Nana and Ann?" She was beginning to panic; she was a missing person in the human world. They've gone five months without her. Her father would be so worried…first mother…and now her? "I have to go home Tamesis!"

Arabella moved to get out of bed, but Tamesis easily held her down. "You can't Arabella. You're still in danger…You-Know-Who was very close in getting you and who knows how what that man who captured you is thinking. He may still be on the lookout for you. If you just suddenly pop up…"

"But Tamesis…"

"You are a normal human girl that can see what others can't." Tamesis spoke over her. "If that blond man finds you and takes you to You-Know-Who, you will be used you for his advantage in taking over the magical world and then dispose of you when you're no longer any use to him. You cannot go back until he has been defeated."

"But how long will that take?" Arabella asked.

"Who knows? But until then, we have to keep you safe. No wizard has been able to find Avalon, though many have tried over the centuries. This is the safest place in the world for you. Please try to understand…"

Her hands went to her hair…she couldn't understand this. Why was something like this happening to her? She hasn't done anything except mind her own business for the most part. The world she saw she usually ignored and went about her daily life. Now…just because she could see this world of magic, she was hiding for her life?

Linore placed a hand on her back, trying to soothe Arabella. "Don't worry. If you want, we can take you to the Queen and see what she has to say about it."

Tamesis folded his arms. "The Queen will understand what I mean. Avalon is the safest place for Arabella."

"Now…I want to go see the Queen now."

"But you only just woke up!" Linore exclaimed.

"Yes, but I've been in a coma for five months! I can't just sit here wasting time anymore…"

"And what can you do Arabella!?" Tamesis finally shouted. "You're only human! You don't have any powers! The only thing you can do is wait for You-Know-Who to fall! We're doing so much for you so just sit there and wait!" With that he stormed out of the room.

Arabella flinched at the sound of the door slamming closed. Linore frowned. "Arabella…please understand, even though Tamesis is angry…he's only think about your safety…Tamesis and I are both are."

"So you agree with Tamesis then?" Arabella groaned. "I know he's right, but my family has no idea where I am…"

"I know you're worried about them Arabella, but let's wait to see what the Queen has to say." Linore stood up from the bed. "I'll go let the Queen know that you've awaken and you can see her tomorrow. You should probably eat something and rest some more while you're at it. A healer will come and do something about your legs. You've been asleep for so long, you probably don't even remember how to walk…" She laughed lightly at this. "And don't worry about Tamesis…I'll get him to calm down, 'kay?"

Arabella took a deep breathe in and nodded, before Linore left the room.

* * *

><p>The next morning Arabella was feeling much better since waking up after her long 5 month snooze. In fact, she was feeling a lot better than she had in years. Perhaps it was simply the result of a long rest or perhaps the healing fairy magic. Either way, she felt like she could touch the sky.<p>

It almost scared her.

Only Linore and the healing fairy, Steluna, greeted her this morning. As Steluna helped Arabella get back to her feet and practice walking a bit, Linore announced that she'd received permission to have an audience with the Queen. When Arabella asked about Tamesis, Linore looked rather sheepish.

"He's waiting outside. When we get the okay from the Healers, we can take you to the Queen."

Arabella's happy mood was slowly overcome by dread with each second that passed. It wasn't until Steluna finished the final checkup, Linore lead Arabella outside.

Tamesis was sitting on a stump, while other fairies were busy buzzing in and out of the healing tree. He stood once seeing the two girls come out. He stared at Arabella, before glancing away. "The only way to get to the Queen's residence is to fly. So I'll have to carry you up…"

"Oh…okay…"

Linore frowned, before forcing a smile. "Well…I bet I can beat you to the top Tamesis! C'mon guys, let's make this a race!" Before either of her companions could say a word, Linore shot off and away, leaving Arabella and Tamesis behind.

They both shared a look, before quickly turning their heads away.

"Um…Tamesis…" Arabella decided to start. "I'm sorry about yesterday."

"Don't be." He grunted. "I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"No, I was really…panicked yesterday. I shouldn't have said what I said. I know you're just looking out for me. Thank you for all you've done for me so far."

Tamesis coughed. "Of course, but let's not dwell on it anymore. We should get going."

With that he swept Arabella in his arms and took off before she could even blink. She held tight to him as he flew into her air. It was a thrilling feeling and for a moment she was jealous of his wings. She was jealous of him and his magic. If she was a magical being, like a fairy or witch, she would have been able to protect herself. For the first time in her life, she cursed the eyes she was born with. It allowed her to see a world she could never be a part of.

Inch by inch the two rose past the many arrays of branches throughout the canopy. The Queen lived at the very top of the Mother Tree. Her palace was the only building built of stone instead of wood. It was a grand marble masterpiece. Beneath the sun it glittered. It was magic.

Tamesis let her down gently when they reached the main hall.

"You two are slooow!"

Tamesis ignored Linore, while she pouted. "The Queen is right through those double doors Arabella."

Her stomach dropped. "Aren't you coming with me?" Arabella looked to both Tamesis and Linore a bit worried.

"The Queen has asked to see you alone." Linore said.

Tamesis nodded. "Don't worry. It's just so you two can talk about the issue without any interruptions. We'll be right here waiting."

Arabella looked to them one last time, before heading through the double doors. The doors opened into a grand throne room. Arabella gasped in awe when she saw the Queen sitting on her throne. The dress she wore was simply stunning, as though it was made from light itself. It made Arabella feel that the robes she wore were greatly inferior in comparison. "You must be Arabella."

She walked closer to the queen and stopped a couple feet away from her throne. Arabella dipped into a slight curtsy, not sure what else she should do in a queen's presence. The queen laughed lightly. "There's no need for that Arabella. You're in quite a predicament aren't you?"

"Yes, mam."

"Tamesis has told me about you. He went on and on about what a nice human you were, how you wouldn't use fairy magic for dark means…but I'm reluctant to let you stay here. I'm sure you understand…"She arched an eyebrow, waiting for a response.

"Y-yes. I suppose so…"

"I'm sure that both Tamesis and Linore had filled you in, but with the rise of a dark wizard…I can never be too sure on who he influences…"

"I just want to go home."

The queen shifted in her seat, leaning forward slightly. "We went over the past few reports from the past few months and I must say not much has progressed in defeating this dark wizard. He still remains hidden in the shadows, waiting to strike. Tamesis is adamant that you stay here for your own safety."

"I want to go home." Arabella repeated. "I'm tired of all…all…**this.**"

"And what exactly does that mean?"

"I just want to go home. I want things to go back to normal…"

The queen laughed lightly. "But you aren't a normal human are you? You can see things other people can't. You can see our world of magic. This makes you different, and this power can put you in danger."

"It's not a power. It's just a…"

"Silence." The queen didn't shout. She didn't need to. Upon hearing the order, Arabella followed immediately. The queen's voice was no higher than a whisper, but pierced Arabella more sharply than any sword. "I have thought about this during the past five months since you arrived. I've freely given you protection. I expect you not to interrupt me with your…whining. Are we clear?"

"Yes mam." Arabella nodded.

"Good." The queen stood to her feet. She easily towered over Arabella in height and in presence. "We don't get too many humans here in Avalon, but you should know that humans usually cannot survive in our world for long. Every human that arrives here through any one of the many fairy doors, arrives unconscious, just as you did. Human bodies, initially, aren't compatible to Avalon's magical environment. So the human body shuts down to adjust, however there have been several cases where the human in question doesn't wake up and dies in sleep."

Arabella gulped at this and thanked every higher being she knew that she was able to wake up.

"If the said human does wake up and chooses not to leave Avalon, then they will forget the life they lived as a human. Their human memories are eaten away. It's very rare that a human can spend time here and still remember their life in the human world, this goes for both normal humans and magical humans alike. Even though you can see the magical world unlike other ordinary humans, there's the chance of you forgetting everything you've ever known."

"Then I can't stay here," said Arabella. The choice was as simple as that. "I don't want to forget about my old life. Your world is beautiful and I love both Linore and Tamesis, but I don't belong here."

"You are very right with what you say, but you have also caught the eyes of You-Know-Who supporters. Do you know of him?"

"Linore explained him to me kind of…"

"You-Know-Who does not like non-magical humans. He wishes them gone so that witches and wizards can rise above the non-magical world as well as other creatures in the magical world. Now that you are no longer his captive, you might pose as a possible threat. I'm not sure what you could possibly do to threaten him, but I'm sure He would like to be more safe than sorry."

"Then…what am I supposed to do?"

"You have two options. I give you permission to stay here as long as you wish. If you happen to still remember your human life, then you may return to the human world once it is safe for you to do so. Your second option is to seek the help of magical humans who fight against You-Know-Who."

"There are people like that?"

"Of course…" She took out, to Arabella's surprise, Arabella's bag and pulled out Arabella's sketchbook. "Tamesis and Linore managed to get this for you. They know how much it means to you." She flipped through the pages and stopped on the page with several people on it. She held out the book for her to take. Arabella took it and examined it again. "These are the people who can help you. You've met them once before."

Arabella frowned. "Then why can't I remember?"

"Your memory has been modified. I can see that clearly. If you choose to go to them for help, then I can also fix your memory, so that you remember your previous encounter with them. However…"

"Yes…"

The Queen closed her eyes in thought before speaking again. "It's nothing really. I just wonder if you want to remember. After all, you've had enough of '**this**'." The queen quoted.

"I want to go back to the human world." Arabella said with confidence. "If the only way to ensure my safety is to meet these people, then I want you to fix my memory."

"You are sure of this?"

Arabella nodded.

"Then take this with you." The queen took off a ring from one of her fingers and gave it to Arabella. "I have met the leader of the good magical humans many years ago. Show this to him and he will surely believe your story."

"The leader?"

"Yes, of the Order of the Phoenix. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mam."

The Queen stood up and held her hand above Arabella's head. "I'll fix your memory now."

There was a warm tingly sensation on the top of her head, and then, all of a sudden, she lost the feeling in her legs.

Her memory came back to her…the few days she had spent inside Grimmauld Place 12: Lupin, the Weasleys, Mad-Eye and most importantly Sirius.

Sirius Black.

In her chest, she felt a new weight in her heart.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'd say I'm 'bout half way done with this story...in fact, I'm probably well past the half-way mark! If anything there will be a minimum of 5 more chapters left before this story comes to a close. Of course, this is only a rough estimate~**

**This chapter is simply a bridging chapter. So not a lot of excitement. XP**

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><p><strong>Chapter Fourteen<strong>

**In Which She Returned**

Sirius was happy that Christmas time was drawing nearer. The house wouldn't be empty anymore, with the children staying at Grimmauld Place for the holidays. The thought made him evidently more cheerful, however one person kept him from feeling truly excited.

Arabella.

A few weeks or so after Arabella had her memory erased by Snape, Snape reported at a meeting that Arabella was caught by Lucius Malfoy. The news caused an immediate uproar at the meeting. Everyone worried if any of the Order's secrets were revealed or if Malfoy had given the girl to Lord Voldemort. However, Snape informed that he had already confronted Malfoy on the matter; apparently she was to be kept a secret and so a plan was hatched. Snape would sneak a portkey to the girl.

Sirius was more than upset that the plan didn't work. He was furious. According to Snape, Lucius had pushed past him and managed to stun Arabella. She fell into the pond and disappeared.

Since then, Malfoy had been keeping an eye out for the girl, as did the Order, but she hasn't been seen in five months. Dumbledore even allowed Lupin to check Arabella's residence to find that she was not home and that her father was worried beyond belief. It was a mystery. How could a muggle disappear in an instant? Where could she have gone?

Remus had brought up the matter several times, mostly trying to get Sirius to forget about the girl. But how could he? He was with her for only a few days and yet he cared strongly for the sweet Arabella. Many nights, in his dreams, he simply held her in her arms, other nights he'd go a little farther than simply holding her. But lately, in his dreams, he only saw her sleeping in a bed with two shadows standing beside the bed. Her sleeping face was angelic, and a few times he saw her, he thought she might have been dead. However, every so often she'd sigh his name.

"_Sirius._"

"_Sirius."_

"_Sirius."_

Was she waiting for him to rescue her? Was this why she called out to him through his dreams? He had voiced to the other members of the Order his desire to help her, but he was shot down. It was too risky for him to go outside. So inside he stayed, worrying about Arabella behind his smile and sarcastic remarks and humor.

On another note, he was very glad that Harry was doing alright. After the dementor attack in the summer, which happened around the same time Arabella's memory was wiped, Sirius was slightly worried for his godson. But Harry inherited much from his parents, especially the ability to protect himself. Harry no doubt heard about Arabella from Ron and Hermione, but Harry had not mentioned it to Sirius once. Of course, Harry did have a lot on his mind anyways. Sirius couldn't help but wonder what Harry would think about Arabella, especially since she was probably only about a few years older than Harry.

Sirius shook his head as he walked down the stairs after giving Buckbeak his dinner. Everyone else, the Weasleys, Harry, Lupin and Kingsley, were already in the kitchen eating dinner. He walked in and sat down at the end of the table.

"'Bout time you got down here Sirius, I was afraid Buckbeak ate you for dinner instead." Remus said, passing Sirius the mashed potatoes.

"I was just thinking about some things and lost track of time."

"Ha ha, no need to hurt yourself Sirius," Kingsley laughed.

"Ha ha, you're so clever Kingsley. I hope you don't hurt yourself with your 'sharp wit'."

Dinner proceeded smoothly. There were smiles and laughs all around. However, the group had barely started desert when a knock sounded out from the front door. Everyone froze and stared at one another.

The knock came again, louder this time.

Sirius was the first to speak and shouted. "Kreacher! If that's you, then you better stop making that racket!"

"Sirius!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.

"It's probably Kreacher anyways…" He mumbled.

The knocking at the door started again.

Remus got up and took out his wand. "I'll go check it out."

"No, no, allow me," Kingsley said, getting up from his seat as well.

"Hold it! I want to answer the door!" Sirius exclaimed. "I barely do anything anyways…"

Remus refused Sirius' offer immediately. "And what if it's a death eater out the door? You can't be seen Sirius. And don't worry about it Kingsley, I can handle this."

Sirius grumbled how he'd take out the death eater anyways, but sat down as he was told.

Remus left the room and everyone else waited in silent suspense. They all jumped when they heard Remus exclaim. "What in the world!? How did you…!?"

Everyone at the table stood up at once because of Remus' sudden exclamation. All were wondering who it was on the other side of the door. All eyes were locked on the kitchen door, waiting to see who Remus would bring with them. The door creaked open and Remus walked in with none other than Arabella Roland.

"Molly, we'll need something hot for Arabella to drink…"

"Of course! Right away!" Mrs. Weasley hustled about to get a tea kettle going.

Sirius was in shock. Arabella was shivering from head to toe and her hair and clothing were wet, stuck to her skin. Remus had draped his coat around her. She had been looking around the room at the many people before her eyes rested on Sirius. Sirius felt very nervous. Did she remember him?

She walked forward to him, step by step, until she had her arms wrapped around his waist. "Sirius…" She began to cry, hot tears rolling down her cheeks.

Was he dreaming?

Arabella shouldn't be able to remember him, and yet…here she was. He slowly wrapped his arms around her. "Come sit down okay?" He urged gently.

She shook her head and buried her face into his chest. "You're warm."

"Just sit down…" He pushed over towards the chair he had been sitting in previously. He was more than happy to see her, but having everyone's eyes on them was rather unnerving. He was wondering what Harry was thinking at the moment.

Kingsley grabbed his coat from the back of his chair. "I'll go notify Dumbledore of this immediately."

"Please do," Remus said with his arms crossed. He had a grim look on his face, even though he was relieved that Arabella was alive.

Sirius stayed closed to Arabella. She seemed to be a bit dazed, her expression almost vacant. Her teeth chattered as she reached for the tea Mrs. Weasley handed her. "T-Thank you, Mrs. Weasley."

"No problem my dear…what happened to you?"

"It's snowing outside and I don't have any other clothes. I was close, so I came straight here." She managed to say, still shivering in her robes…robes!?

"But where have you been the last five months? We were so worried about you and when you didn't turn up we feared the worst."

"I need to talk to the leader first." She said. "The leader of the Order of the Phoenix."

Remus frowned. "How do you know of the Order?"

Arabella fidgeted. "The…fairy queen told me."

One of the Weasley twins snorted, and was smacked upside the head by their mother.

"The fairy…queen?" Remus repeated.

"Remus," Sirius stepped in. "She's tired. Let her rest first and we can question her later."

"Sirius is right. Arabella have you eaten at all yet?" Mrs. Weasley didn't even wait for an answer. She began piling a plate of the left-overs from dinner. "It's not much but…"

"It's fine Mrs. Weasley…" Arabella took a shaky hand and began to eat slowly.

"Wait…" One of the boys said. Arabella looked up to see a boy with wild black hair and green eyes staring at her. She didn't remember who this was or meeting him before for that matter. "Who are you?"

"Arabella Roland."

Harry couldn't help but notice how close Sirius stayed to this Arabella person. He couldn't help but notice the look on Sirius' face when she first came in the room. And he couldn't help but notice the way Sirius looked at her now, and all she was doing was eating. He remembered both Hermione and Ron talking about her. Apparently she was able to get into the house, but the Order had her memory modified. She was a muggle, but it struck Harry as odd, after all a muggle wasn't supposed to see the magical world.

"And…you are?" She asked.

"Harry Potter."

"Oh…" Arabella could sense something was amiss, but simply dismissed it. "Sirius, what day is it?" She asked instead.

"The 20th of December."

Arabella sighed and put her fork down. "I really need to speak with the leader and I…don't have anywhere to go…I don't know what to do when I get home…"

"You can stay here!" Sirius really liked the idea of Arabella staying.

"Hold on, Miss Roland." Remus cut in. "You owe us an explanation about what happened to you. How did you even meet Lucius Malfoy?"

"Remus…"

"I'm sorry, but this is important information that we **need **to know."

"I'm afraid you won't believe me…this story is even stranger than the last one…"

"Go ahead…" Remus pushed her.

"Well…I was shopping for a dress for Ethan's party…"

"Wait a minute, who's Ethan?" Sirius had to cut in.

Arabella jumped, a bit alarmed. "He's just a friend. Anyways, I was shopping for the party when I came across the invisible pub on Charing Cross Road. Usually I wouldn't have gone in, because you never know what might happen, but before I could leave I just bumped into him." She shifted a bit, before continuing. "He asked me why I was blocking his way so I went inside…but only for a moment! I left soon afterwards, but he followed me and found out that I wasn't a witch…he invited me to join him there the week after…"

Sirius was shocked. "You…you…"

"To a muggle a world of magic is fascinating! And since he was a wizard…" She tried to defend herself.

"Just continue with your story," Remus urged.

"Well we met again, talked a bit. He said he could bring me into your world and find some work for me…stuff like that, but I turned him down. The next I saw him was at Ethan's party of all places! I couldn't believe it. He made me so nervous and when he got me alone he took me away to his manor." She finished.

Everyone already knew what happened next, for the most part, from Snape's reports.

"Miss Roland, I hope you realize the severity of your actions. You had put yourself in great danger." Remus said stern faced. "According to Snape, you had managed to escape your room at the manor, but Mr. Malfoy hit you with a stupefying spell. After that you fell into the pond and disappeared…"

"I heard Tamesis' voice from the pond so I went to look. The next thing I knew, I was falling. I think it was his magic that made me disappear."

"And after which you were taken to…"

"Avalon. That's where Tamesis is from."

Remus seemed to be satisfied with her answers, and didn't push her any further. However there was one question nagging at the back of his mind. "I just want to be sure on this, but you did not meet You-Know-Who at all during your…stay at the Malfoy Manor?"

Arabella shook her head.

The table fell to silence, before Mrs. Weasley clapped her hands together. "I think that's enough of that. Arabella, you'd probably want to wash up. You can take a bath if you like…seriously Sirius? She'll only be a few."

Mrs. Weasley dragged Arabella upstairs, while everyone's eyes turned to Sirius.

"So..." Harry started. "That's Arabella?"

"I didn't mention it, because I didn't think I'd ever see her again. We wiped her memory." Sirius muttered.

"Then how did she get it back? Can you do that?" Harry wondered.

"Memories are never removed from the mind. They're merely repressed," Remus explained. "It'll take some complex magic to reverse the spell, not to mention a lot of time. I'll have to ask Miss Roland about it when she returns."

Sirius made no objections.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I feel like I'm on a roll~! I did a quick outline for the rest of the story. I'm gauging that the last chapter will be Chapter 20. So excited~**

**Since Christmas is coming up, I probably won't upload anymore chapters until next Saturday. **

**I hope you all are having a lovely holiday~**

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><p><strong>Chapter Fifteen<strong>

**In Which She Feels Uneasy**

"Molly, it's already nine o'clock!" Sirius complained.

"She still needs her rest Sirius! That poor girl's been through a lot and all you ever want to do is…well…you know!" Mrs. Weasley retorted, not looking Sirius in the face.

Despite himself, Sirius found that he was blushing at Mrs. Weasley's statement. "I…I don't just want to do…you know..." he spattered before recollecting himself. "I've hardly had a chance to spend some time with her!"

"She's only been back for a night! I swear you're like…a dog in heat or something."

If Sirius wasn't sputtering before, he sure was now. Before he could deny her statement, the girl they were speaking about in question had entered the hall. Her hair was braided into one long braid and she wore a white nightgown that belonged to Ginny. Sirius made way to talk to her, but Mrs. Weasley beat him to the punch. "Arabella, you should rest dear."

"But I feel a lot better, thank you. I wouldn't want to laze around all day," Arabella said sheepishly.

"After all you went through, I think you could rest at least a day or two."

"Nonsense Molly! She's not just skin and bones. Girl's got backbone. She did after all knock out Malfoy with a book," Sirius mused, recalling the highlight of Arabella's little adventure.

Arabella laughed. "I'm glad you think so, Sirius."

Mrs. Weasley pursed her lips. "Well…just don't push yourself or anything."

"I won't Mrs. Weasley."

"Oh and your robes are in the wash. I'll get them to you as soon as I can. After that we'll have to look around for some other clothes for you. If you're staying for a couple of weeks, then you'll need more than a nightgown and a pair of robes."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley."

"Where did you say you got those robes? They're actually very fine quality…"

"Oh…well…Mr. Malfoy bought them for me…so…"

Mrs. Weasley made an odd squeaking noise. "I guess I can't deny that Mr. Malfoy has a good…sense of style. Actually, the robes remind me of the ones I wore to one of my cousins' weddings, received loads of compliments that day. In fact…"

"Molly," Sirius said through clenched teeth. "Don't you have somewhere else to be?"

"Honestly Sirius, there's nothing wrong with me wanting to strike up a little conversation. Besides I wasn't going to keep her too long, I was just on my way to kitchen anyways." Mrs. Weasley turned to Arabella again. "We're going to be seeing my husband in the hospital today, and I want to bring him a little something. Lord knows how hospital food can taste sometimes."

"Your husband?" Arabella asked wide eyed. "Is he alright?"

"Arthur will be fine. In fact, I think he'll be due back any day now." All three heads snapped to see Albus Dumbledore standing with them. Arabella couldn't help but stare at the man in wonder. "Miss Roland, it's a pleasure to see you again."

"And you, Mr. Dumbledore."

"Kingsley has informed me that you wished to speak to me."

It then clicked that Mr. Dumbledore was in fact the head of the Order. "Y-yeah…I mean yes! Yes! Umm…" Arabella pulled of the ring on her finger. "This! The fairy queen told me to show this to you, so you'd believe my story!"

Dumbledore took the ring in question and examined it briefly. "This is a very exquisite ring, Miss Roland."

"Yes, the fairy queen gave it to me." She repeated herself. She couldn't really help it. She was nervous.

"Why don't we return to your room and discuss this matter at hand privately?" Dumbledore asked, returning the ring to her. Sirius still looked as though he had something to say, but Dumbledore silenced him swiftly. "I know that you're quite fond of Miss Roland Sirius, and I'm sure you will have more than enough time to catch up with her later today."

Sirius stiffly nodded with a frown on his face.

"Good. Well, after you Miss Roland."

Arabella and Mr. Dumbledore returned to her room. She sat near the head of the bed, while he situated himself at the foot.

"I see no reason to dally, so I'll get straight to the point. Remus has updated me with your story, and although you and Lord Voldemort were not formally introduced, I'm sure you understand that we have certain precautions we must be wary of. We've had some of our people watching your house and your father seems alright, so is your house maid. However, we can't be too sure that Mr. Malfoy will keep quiet about your existence or not. Even if he does, if you were to bump into him by chance again or if he were to someday use your family against you...I hope you realize that we don't have many options to ensure you or your family's safety, Miss Roland."

"I…understand that Mr. Dumbledore."

"I will have Snape do all that he can to keep Mr. Malfoy off your trail; however, I think it might be best for you and your family to leave the country, at least for a while."

Her jaw dropped. "Leave the country? But I have school, my father has work…we can't just drop it all and take off somewhere."

"Actually, we can make it arranged that your father to be transferred from his current position in the company he works for."

"How on Earth could you do that?"

"Us wizards have a way of doing things to influence the muggle world, intentionally or unintentionally." Dumbledore admitted. "You have a decent background in French, correct? I'm sure studying in music in France would be a pleasant experience…"

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait, I'm not sure if I could…"

"Please realize, that if you want to return to your family, you must leave the country to be sure of your safety. Once Voldemort is defeated…"

"Will he? When? He's done so much…" Arabella struggled to find the right word. "…stuff. Isn't he getting more powerful by the…"

"Enough, Miss Roland." Dumbledore pleaded calmly. "I assure you that he will be defeated. He has been before, and this time it will be for good. Until the time of his defeat, your family shall go to France. It won't be for forever. Have we come to an understanding?"

As much as she it pained her to admit it, Dumbledore was correct. Everything he said made sense, and it would only for a while. "Yes sir, I understand."

"Good." Dumbledore was pleased. "Now plans to move your family may take a week or two. We don't want the move to be too abrupt in case Malfoy has someone watching your family…"

"But wouldn't he hurt them or something?" Arabella blurted out.

"We haven't detected anyone else watching your house, so they should be fine. We've even placed protective charms around your home. The move shall take place in a couple weeks just to be sure of your family's safety. Until then, you will stay here."

"Alright, and thank you very much for helping me, Mr. Dumbledore." She thanked him.

Dumbledore allowed her to exit the room first. Outside Sirius was there waiting. "Well?"

"Mr. Dumbledore says that I'll be staying her for a couple weeks, then my family will be moving."

"To where?" Sirius asked.

"Hopefully France." Dumbledore answered. "If that doesn't work out, we might have to send them to America."

"America!?" Sirius nearly shouted. "That's all the way across the Atlantic!"

Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "We don't know how far they'll need to go ensure they're out of Voldemort's radar. On second thought, it might be best to go to America…I'll have to think about this matter a little while longer. Good day to you Miss Roland, Sirius." He said his farewell and proceeded downstairs without them.

Now it was just the two of them in the hall. "Sirius?"

"Yes?"

"…how have you been doing?" Arabella asked, beating herself up the moment the words came out of her mouth. Couldn't she think of something else to say?

"Brilliant," Sirius found himself saying. "Absolutely brilliant, you know, if we ignore the fact that you were kidnapped by Lucius Malfoy, went missing for **five **months and the fact you're going to move off…somewhere…"

"Dumbledore said it wouldn't be for forever…" she chimed in, feeling rather small. She had never seen Sirius quite upset.

"I guess it doesn't matter anyways," Sirius sighed to himself. "You're alright and…you remember."

Arabella smiled. "Yes, I remember."

"But…"

"I already said that the fairy queen used her magic on me."

Although Sirius knew better, he couldn't help but laugh. "Of course, the fairy queen…"

Arabella smacked him playfully. "Don't laugh. It's true. I'm not lying."

"I know you're not," Sirius said, but his eyes still twinkled with laughter.

"She was nothing like I thought she'd be," Arabella continued. "She was actually quite intimidating."

"I'm sure she was," said Sirius, before adding, "Nothing more scary than fairy wings and sparkly glitter."

Arabella pouted and turned away. "If you were there, you would agree with me."

Sirius laughed. "Well, I congratulate you for your bravery. Shall we call a toast in your name? To Arabella: the girl who bravely faced the Queen of Faeries." He teased.

"Now I'm starting to wonder why I even came back at all…"

"Surely you don't mean that love," Sirius whispered, his voice suddenly dropping several octaves. His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her in close. His lips lightly brushed hers, a feathery touch so light Arabella held her breath. She realized he was waiting for her.

"Sirius…"

"Shh…"He moved in, silencing her, his chapped lips moving against her soft ones.

Their kiss was like a breath of life.

When they broke apart, Arabella rested her head against Sirius' shoulder. "You know, before my memory was restored, I was quite upset. I wanted nothing more than to leave all this behind me, but after my memory restored I remembered you and…" She couldn't help but smile faintly as she said this. "I feel like I couldn't be happier…happy, but sad at the same time. It's a strange feeling. I've only just remembered you and now…now I'll have to leave again. Do you think my memory will be erased again?"

"I don't know," Sirius said truthfully.

"I hope not," She said, holding onto him tighter. "I've been thinking lately…I didn't say anything to Mr. Dumbledore, because I didn't know what he'd say about it…but…never mind."

"What is it?" Sirius asked.

"Never mind, it's silly," She said, burying her face in his chest.

"Arabella, it can't be anymore silly than a fairy queen…"

"Sirius! I'm…serious…"

Sirius was laughing again. "Only teasing, love. Only teasing. Oh, and I love your little play on words by the way."

"I didn't really mean to do that," Arabella mumbled, before taking in a deep breath. "I was just wondering…well, wishing really, that I could stay with you here."

"Stay with me?"

"Yes. You can't leave the house right? I was thinking I could live with you here, until the war was over…"

Sirius frowned. "That might not be for a while…"

"I know that I'm being silly, but maybe if…" She started, but Sirius cut her off. "I'm happy that you're here…but staying trapped up in this house isn't good."

"But I'm safe here aren't I? Mrs. Weasley has mentioned that this place was well protected." She reminded him. "And Mr. Dumbledore said that my family seems to be doing fine. They're sad that I'm gone, but they're still alive and well, you know?"

"Yes but…" Of course, Sirius was glad to have more company, but who wanted to be shut in all day long day after day for who knows how long?

"I just…I don't know. I know I should go back to my family, but…I'm afraid I won't ever see you again."

Sirius sighed, but smiled down at her. "But we're the ones hiding your family. When it's all over, I'll find you again."

"But…what if you…I know you don't go outside and this place is protected…but what if you died?"

Honestly Sirius wasn't sure what to say to that. Sure he wasn't allowed to leave the house for now, but what about in the future? And although the chances of Grimmauld Place being attacked were slim, he couldn't deny the possibility.

"I'm sorry," Arabella apologized. "I'm being silly." She made way to pull away, but Sirius kept her close and kissed her on her forehead. He then smoothed some of her hair behind her ear. "You don't need to apologize, and you don't have to worry. Everything will turn out for the best. Just gotta keep your head up, right?

Arabella was practically beaming and tip-toed to kiss him again; however, an "Oh" broke them apart. Sirius and Arabella separated and saw that Harry had entered the hall.

"Harry…" Sirius croaked out.

"Mrs. Weasley told me to let you know that we're leaving to visit Mr. Weasley now." He turned around to leave.

Sirius tried to call for Harry, but he couldn't find his voice. Arabella noticed the sudden uneasiness in the room. "I-I'm sorry Sirius," She apologized, even though she wasn't even sure what she was apologizing for.

"No don't be," He shook his head. "Listen, just listen…Harry he's my…well he's more like my…?"

She paled. "Is he your son?"

"No! No, no, no, he's my godson, but his parents are dead so…" His voice trailed off, not sure how else to explain. "He's only about a few years younger than you are actually. How old are you again?"

"I'm eighteen."

He groaned. "I'm old enough to be your father…a rather young father but still…"

"But I don't mind at all." She said quickly, grabbing at his arm. "I don't mind at all. Age…it doesn't really matter…."

He cut her off. "You were only just born when I turned eighteen. Before I…but now I…" Sirius felt like he was going in circles. It was strange. A few moments ago he was so happy and so sure, but now…after seeing Harry's face. He forced his eyes shut, to collect his thoughts, before opening them again. "You're so beautiful. You're so young. This…this was a mistake." He said firmly.

Arabella couldn't see past his eyes; they held a blank, stony expression. Her grip on his arm loosened and her hand fell to her side. "A mistake?"

When he saw the broken look on her face, he immediately tried to reword his thoughts. "No, not a mistake it's just…I don't know. I don't know Arabella. I'm sorry. I…"This was proving to be too much for Sirius to try and explain, especially since he himself couldn't understand his feelings as well.


End file.
